The Big Empty

I've been to Baker. I swear the characters in the movie could easily be based on the real residents of this desolate town. Made me a little uncomfortable just thinking about being stranded there. Things could happen there that no one would ever know or care about.

If you are confused when watching this then it's working. Don't try to figure it out and just enjoy the ride. Well acted. Uncle Rico was awesome! Great cast of characters. Frazier was an unexpected pleasure. This movie is more about the acting and the characters than anything else. We all have to make choices everyday and usually make the wrong ones. Make the choice to give this movie a chance.

Keep your bags packed but don't open them unless you are ready to go on this trip.

Stuck in a mediocre life, John Person persist with his dream of acting. Hanging on the hope of a call back from an audition, John is suddenly interrupted by his neighbour Neely. Neely asks for John's help in delivering a blue suitcase to a man called the Cowboy. The delivery point is the small desert town of Baker. Once there, John meets the strange locals; hotel manager Elron, bar maid Stella, the mysterious Ruthie. Complications arise when FBI agent Banks starts investigating John and his matters in Baker.

The Big Empty is a quirky debut for director/writer Steve Anderson. The Big Empty is a mash up of ideas and concepts; aliens and abductions, bowling, the mystery of the suitcase, meeting new people in the likeliest places, freeing once self from life's pit, a self discovery to your inner life and desires. To Anderson's credit, he stops this mash up from a complete muddle and strings it all together convincingly. Yet he has taken on to much all at once. The esoteric story, the kooky characters of the town are of centered to his canvas. He has so many ideas, but placing so many have hindered the film.

A positive and a negative of The Big Empty is its overly ambiguous tone. Questions are thrown at you, hints to their answer are slowly dug up, but so many questions are left unanswered. It's very opened ended, leaving room for much interpretation. Anderson wants you to think and uncover your own answers, which is pleasant to see from a film maker, audiences are too comfortable to have the answers given.

Acting all round is solid. Jon Favreau is strong if it not near his best. Daryl Hannah is great is as Stella. Kelsey Grammar occasionally hits over the top as Agent Banks. Rachael Leigh Cook is an absolute stand out as head strong and free spirit Ruthie. Sean Bean is also quite a stand out as the mysterious Cowboy.

While The Big Empty may not grasp everyones attention or be a wholly stunning film, it shows much talent in Anderson's skill as a film maker. A very solid debut.

Non-working Hollywood actor Jon Favreau (as John Person) is nearly $28,000 in debt. With no jobs on the horizon, Mr. Favreau accepts an ultra-weird offer from neighborly Bud Cort (as Neely), who wears a neck-brace. Pay attention; that another neighbor, Joey Lauren Adams (as Grace), first appears with a Band-Aid on her neck is a clue. Watch your necks. Favreau's mission is to deliver a locked, blue suitcase to a man called "Cowboy" (Sean Bean) in Baker, California. Reluctantly accepting the offer, Favreau meets all sorts of strange people in the transient town. They all eventually lead Favreau to an even stranger ending...

Written and directed by Steve Anderson, "The Big Empty" seems to be a cross between David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" TV series and the "Heaven's Gate" cult of the 1990s. It's better than the former because Mr. Anderson's quirks lead to an ending, of sorts. Lynch's "log lady" never made as much sense; let's hope she found the right fireplace. The Heaven's Gate crowd, remember, committed mass suicide to board a spaceship they thought was somehow attached to the Hale–Bopp comet, which passed by Earth in 1997. Like the folks in this film, they prospective travelers wore brand new sneakers. Their bodies "lifted off" in groups of 15, also...

While there are nods and winks to these and other stories, "The Big Empty" is an original work. Anderson appears to be a director to watch. The style and color photography, by Chris Manley, is stronger than the plot. The dozen characters are also more appealing than the story, with sexy Rachael Leigh Cook (as Ruthie) most impressive as a conquest out of Favreau's weight class and age group. Having infectious fun are jealous bf Adam Beach (as Randy), quirky hotel clerk Jon Gries (as L. Ron) and Brent Briscoe (as DAN). And, anyone who thinks they've had enough of Daryl Hannah (as Stella) should take another look at her...

The ending song, "Honkytonk Maniac from Mars" by Jason Ringenberg, is very cool.

****** The Big Empty (5/16/03) Steve Anderson ~ Jon Favreau, Rachael Leigh Cook, Sean Bean, Daryl Hannah

This could be an excellent little suspense yarn with a touch of sci-fi in the brew, and in many respects it is. But (the DVD version of) the film is only 92 minutes long, and there were at least three scenes chopped down that needed to contribute important information to the continuity. Leaving them in completely would have added no more than a few minutes to an already short story, but as stripped, there are three situations left unexplained, along with a comment from Cowboy that clarifies what he is up to and defines his role.

What does a cowboy do? He rides the range in search of cattle, and when he has a herd, he delivers them to the slaughter house where they end up as hamburgers. A similar story was given many years ago in a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits show, about space aliens inviting humans to go away with them to a paradise in the sky. The humans were given a book to decipher, which the aliens claimed would reveal their ultimate intent, but the humans couldn't figure it out. Hundreds of them had already left, and more were waiting in line, before someone finally translated the title. It was a "cook book"! In other words, as in this story, the promise of a glittering future among the aliens turned out to have a darker side.

As anyone can see from the DVD version, the important three shortened scenes establish key points in the plot. They are called "Going for a ride," "Get in the room," and "Git along little doggie," the latter of which concerns a rather chilling remark by Cowboy. These three scenes should not have been truncated, because they are central to the story. The edited out parts only amount to an extra few minutes, but they add clarity to three situations that otherwise leave one wondering what was missing. Otherwise a good story.

"The Big Empty" is not only the title of this movie, it's also an apt description of it. Telling of a struggling actor who runs an errand to a desert town in California for some paranormal weirdo only to become embroiled in a bunch of nonsense which goes no where, this lame comedy is packed with some quality acting talent from the B-list and little else. Cost cutting is evident everywhere and the novelty in this quirkfest's screenplay wears thin at the mid-point only to sink into oblivion as the end draws near. Not worth the price of a DVD rental this darkish comedy with sci-fi overtones is best saved for broadcast where it will be in the company of its kindred. (C)