I just saw this film, for the 3rd astounding time, at a DGA screening. This movie was in my hands about 1 year ago and the name has been changed since then. The workprint was called "2 birds w/1 stallone". I knew something great could come out of it or the director when I saw the first cut. But I didn't know if it would be this film that has matured to a piece of art.
The workprint was actually played at fests like Austin and others, and the director has cut and cut and rescored and reshot to the point where I feel the film is close to a classic. If anyone will release it is another story. Perhaps Harvey is the only person in town who would have the balls to market this film. Because the only way to get it out there, is to make a star of the director who also plays the lead role.
Bret Carr, a Deniro/Thorntonesque actor/directer, may define his whole career with this role. He's absolutley flawless. It gets to a point where it doesn't seem like he's acting, you feel as if you're watching a documentary.
This is my favorite kind of film. We're stuck with a character who is stuck with himself. And this guy, Lou, well, you get to know him, feel what his life his like, hear his thoughts, and sometimes even agree with the thoughts. Taxi Driver is a prime example of this. Travis Bickle and Lou Benedetti are cut from the same cloth. Lou goes down a different road, and happily it is slightly more commercial and humorous, but he still is one of the most ambitious characters in movie history, he desperatley tries to connect with people but always ends up scaring them away. But he keeps going. Until he goes inside of himself in one of the most psychologically explosive scenes in film history. By the end he ends up something of a hero. A triumph for Bret Carr who stuck with this film until it worked. And like Robert Evans says, "...a master needs time with his canvas". My rating: **** out of ****
