Laurel Canyon

"Laurel Canyon" is a story about 'family'. The grown son (Christian Bale) of a record producer (Frances McDormand) ends up bringing his girl friend (Kate Bekinsdale) to California. They expected to stay in his mother's empty home while he worked at a psychiatric hospital and she worked on a thesis. Due to a schedule change, his mother is still in the home when he and his girl friend arrive. It is obvious that there is substantial tension and resentment on the son's side of the relationship. He feels his mother was not a good parent and that she is irresponsible, and she is still living the carefree and wild lifestyle she has always lived. His curious girlfriend is drawn into the lives of his mother and her boyfriend (Allesandro Nivola), with the potential for disastrous results.

Frances McDormand does a fine job as the mother. Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsdale are also good as the young couple. Allesandro Nivola is entertaining as the mother's current lover. This is a nicely done film. However, something seems a bit flat and the story line doesn't pick up as much steam as a good drama should. It tends to have a 'so what' mentality about the immorality taking place, and the result is that the impact of the film is minimalized. Christian Bale and Frances McDormand have a poignant scene at the end of "Laurel Canyon", but again the film strangely mutes the power which the actors imbue their characters with.

I'd rate this film a 70/100. Fans of the actors involved will enjoy seeing their favorites on the screen, but others will most likely be a bit disappointed by this movie.

There's a clash of cultures, families and sexual orientations in "Laurel Canyon", and I enjoyed all of it. Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are an uptight, New York couple in complete control of their lives, until they move in with Sam's mother Jane (Frances McDormand) who is a loose hippie (in all senses of the words). Jane also has a slew of rock-and-roll men living in her house, most notably, Ian (Alessandro Nivola), her primary boyfriend with an irresistible accent - but then again Jane and Ian don't really label anything, especially relationships.

As Sam grows increasingly frustrated by his mother's lifestyle, Alex grows increasingly intrigued by it. Sam's need to control everything can get annoying, but Bale plays well off of Beckinsale's quiet energy. The sexual tension between Beckinsale, Nivola and McDormand is electric and is able to keep driving the film forward.

The dialogue is funny enough and the actors are all very good that they make up for the slightly predictable plot. At the Independent Spirit Awards, Frances McDormand was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Alessandro Nivola for Best Supporting Actor. Well deserved nominations and quite possibly the best performances of their careers. Be prepared for sexual energy in every direction, but I recommend "Laurel Canyon".

I saw this film at the Miami International Film Festival and was thoroughly absorbed and entertained. I don't know if it will be as successful as the director's much-lauded "High Art" from several years ago; "Laurel Canyon" is not as serious, though it does explore some of the same themes. All of the performances are pitch-perfect. I suspect audiences will especially enjoy and identify with Kate Beckinsale's character: a studious and sheltered young doctoral student who takes to the hedonistic Los Angeles lifestyle in a big way. Frances McDormand and Christian Bale are also wonderful.

Music is almost another character in this film; it pervades the atmosphere. The music, by such artists as Mercury Rev and Clinic, complements and underscores the dynamics between the characters. It's been awhile since I've seen a movie with such an intoxicating sense of place as well: whether accurate or not, Los Angeles is portrayed as a sybaritic wonderland. The film revels in the sensuality and freedom of this rarefied realm, and it's intriguing to see the effect on the young couple.

When Frances McDormand's music producer character asks Alex her opinion on the record she's producing, Alex declines, saying she doesn't know much about popular music. McDormand responds, "Follow your instincts. It either pulls you in or it doesn't." This movie pulled me in.

I watched this movie with my mother. Halfway through it she thought Lisa Cholodenko was an Ukranian filmmaker who wanted to make a comedy about Los Angeles. I told her she was wrong and that it was a feminist view of a Los Angeles native on the war of the sexes. She had to agree in the end.

Men who like soft, womanly women had probably better stay away from Laurel Canyon. It serves tough chicken. And men are wimps. What impressed me (and made me show it to my mom) is the amount of contempt the story shows the the son of the main character, the latter being a domineering, successful music producer who changes her lovers regularly. The son is a trained psychiatrist and a gentle and considerate person who likes to live a life one might call conventional. His aim in life seems to be to serve and to be useful, not personal success or even glory, maybe not even satisfaction (the opening sex scene with the girlfriend seems to indicate that). Not surprisingly he blames his mother for the instability he experienced as a child and would like to keep his distance from her. Yet he moves into her house in Laurel Canyon for professional reasons, assuming she would live elsewhere at that time. For some unexpected reason this is not the case. Along with the son comes his equally conventional, career oriented highbrow girlfriend who likes to finish her doctoral thesis. The girlfriend is fascinated by the encounter with the mother and her entourage and „opens up" and blends in. He does not and I felt that it is somehow held against him.

The movie sets out to show that the son hasn't got a chance against his powerhouse mother and that his lifestyle and attitudes are basically wrong and stupid. It does not explain the characters, the girlfriend's transformation for instance is presented with disarming simplicity as a „natural process". Within the social dynamics of the ashram-like household the ideal man is presented: an irresponsible acting cute sex toy who also happens to be a musician and singer (although not a very good one) and who, I assume, is already scheduled for being discarded in due time.

The cast is better than the story. Frances McDormand is really brilliant as the mother and gives her character unexpected charm and charisma. It really makes you believe she is successful in her job. Natascha McElhone's beauty is somehow beyond belief and slightly surreal. She plays the son's companion from work and potential lover. That wimp is of course much too inhibited to seize the opportunity. The relationship remains platonic, which may well cause further frustration and loathing. Incidentally, the location which serves as the mother's house is just beautiful (I wouldn't mind living in a place like that) and well used as location.

I did not like this movie, and yet I can recommend it. It's interesting and offers a lot for later discussions.

LAUREL CANYON written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko is a film I highly recommend. From it's sexy comedic opening scene with a jarring telephone, to the closing, again featuring Chrisian Bale floating in a rather interesting swimming pool, this film features superb performaces by some of the most interesting actors working today such as Mr. Bale, Frances McDormand, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone and Alessandro Nivola. Ms. Cholodenko should be credited by writing and directing a film that will take you comfortably along for an interesting ride that stretches from Cambridge, Massachusetts through the by-roads of the hills of Los Angeles. This is a very human film, and the actors are allowed to do what they do best, namely perform in this well written, expertly crafted movie. Film aficionados should flock to this one. Enjoy!

Jeremiah Newton