Morgan BellREVIEW: Southland Tales
June 29th 2008 11:29
Directed & Written: Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko)
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Rock, Mandy Moore, Seann William Scott, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, John Larroquet, Christopher Lambert, Kevin Smith
Southland Tales is an exercise in self indulgence for one-hit-wonder cult director Richard Kelly. The film milks the success of Donnie Darko mercilessly while aggressively satirising american politics AND employing a massive cast list of famous friends to cement Kelly's "pull" in Hollywood . . . im a little cynical . . . Southland Tales has the cool indie soundtrack, the offbeat characters, unique scenes and an abundant collection of quirky quotable quotes but it ends up feeling like a community service announcement aimed at young people to encourage them to vote in the 2008 presidential election.
Justin Timberlake is our narrator, a soldier returned from Iraq to the dystopia of homeland security gone mad. The film is set in the immediate future, post an imagined nuclear world war, the human landscape is basically apathy as the government squashes every last civil liberty while the people are too emmerced in their porn and reality tv to care . . . its an ok idea but it is so heavy handed and self important that it falls short of the wittiness it is trying so desperately to achieve . . . it is badly executed and has bitten off way more than it can chew.
Strangely Bai Ling is the stand-out in this film, Bai Ling and Justin Timberlake, i think that should really tell you something . . . the rest of the cast is annoyingly self-aware and seem to pause for approval after delivering their lines, looking to the camera with a puzzled expression waiting for their canned laughter . . . so very pleased with themselves, yet not very pleasing to the viewer . . . Justin Timberlake gets the coolest scene in the film breaking out into a surreal musical interlude, lip-synching to The Killers with a troupe of marilyn-monroe-esque backup dancers . . . Bai Ling slithers about with a snakiness of biblical proportions, she is the evil temptress of the apocalypse, a striking serpentine seductress.
Richard Kelly seems to be aiming for Mulholland Drive and landing somewhere between The Fifth Element, Mars Attacks and Not Another Teen Movie, he throws in a bit of time travel theory and a few people with wounded eyes just so we dont forget we are watching the director of Donnie Darko . . . he is grossly underestimating the intelligence of his audience and it feels really condescending . . . this film cant decide if it is a homage, a spoofy parody, a black satire, a surreal thiller, a political sci-fi, a time-travel adventure, an armageddon drama, a comment on drugs, war, the environment, suicide, sexuality, fame, wealth, weapons . . . Kelly is like a kid in a candy store, completely overwhelmed an unable to decide "oh heck lets put it ALL in a blender and call it a tapestry with an ensemble cast"
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Rock, Mandy Moore, Seann William Scott, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, John Larroquet, Christopher Lambert, Kevin Smith
Southland Tales is an exercise in self indulgence for one-hit-wonder cult director Richard Kelly. The film milks the success of Donnie Darko mercilessly while aggressively satirising american politics AND employing a massive cast list of famous friends to cement Kelly's "pull" in Hollywood . . . im a little cynical . . . Southland Tales has the cool indie soundtrack, the offbeat characters, unique scenes and an abundant collection of quirky quotable quotes but it ends up feeling like a community service announcement aimed at young people to encourage them to vote in the 2008 presidential election.
Justin Timberlake is our narrator, a soldier returned from Iraq to the dystopia of homeland security gone mad. The film is set in the immediate future, post an imagined nuclear world war, the human landscape is basically apathy as the government squashes every last civil liberty while the people are too emmerced in their porn and reality tv to care . . . its an ok idea but it is so heavy handed and self important that it falls short of the wittiness it is trying so desperately to achieve . . . it is badly executed and has bitten off way more than it can chew.
Strangely Bai Ling is the stand-out in this film, Bai Ling and Justin Timberlake, i think that should really tell you something . . . the rest of the cast is annoyingly self-aware and seem to pause for approval after delivering their lines, looking to the camera with a puzzled expression waiting for their canned laughter . . . so very pleased with themselves, yet not very pleasing to the viewer . . . Justin Timberlake gets the coolest scene in the film breaking out into a surreal musical interlude, lip-synching to The Killers with a troupe of marilyn-monroe-esque backup dancers . . . Bai Ling slithers about with a snakiness of biblical proportions, she is the evil temptress of the apocalypse, a striking serpentine seductress.
Richard Kelly seems to be aiming for Mulholland Drive and landing somewhere between The Fifth Element, Mars Attacks and Not Another Teen Movie, he throws in a bit of time travel theory and a few people with wounded eyes just so we dont forget we are watching the director of Donnie Darko . . . he is grossly underestimating the intelligence of his audience and it feels really condescending . . . this film cant decide if it is a homage, a spoofy parody, a black satire, a surreal thiller, a political sci-fi, a time-travel adventure, an armageddon drama, a comment on drugs, war, the environment, suicide, sexuality, fame, wealth, weapons . . . Kelly is like a kid in a candy store, completely overwhelmed an unable to decide "oh heck lets put it ALL in a blender and call it a tapestry with an ensemble cast"
| 60 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by cinema prime
The Timberlake / The Killers moment is a highlight but that's about it. It's one of those films you can't believe ever got made.
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment!
it has a surreal feel but it was just so cartoonish . . . allow me to rhyme and day it wasnt a pinch on lynch . . . i can imagine alot of my younger friends who like cult movies will lap it up but it just seemed like Kelly was trying to apply a formula from a "how to make a cult movie" handbook haha
Bai Ling was fantastic, you knew she was evil because she always had a long long cigarette
Comment by Bianca S
Cinema Voyage
Great review, But i disagree, everyone i know that has seen Southland Tales hated it, i dont know what it is about the film i just love it.
Though i do agree with you on ....."Kelly is like a kid in a candy store, completely overwhelmed an unable to decide "oh heck lets put it ALL in a blender and call it a tapestry with an ensemble cast" <<<THAT.
He lost whatever he was trying to do halfway through the film..
Keep on truckin!!!!
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
i can see that there are plenty of things people could like about Southland Tales, its very bright and colourful and stylised with alot of famous faces etc but yeah he was just cramming SO much content into a small amount of time . . . the synchronised interpretive dance that Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Rock, and Mandy Moore do towards the end reminds me of Romy & Michelles dance near the end of that film . . . but was it homage or unintentional?
*scratches head*
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
haha that was me trying to be nice!
i think there are elements of Southland Tales that are well worth watching but overall its a bit of a mess!
one thing i can say is that you probably wont see anything else like it!
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
The main keywords I've read in response to this film was: incoherent, confused, garbled, a mess, and other synonyms of those four. Just about everybody said it was a big disappointment.
I really have no predilection for Sarah Michelle Gellar, despite my Buffy addiction, neither am I a fan of Justin Timberlake or Dwayne Johnson, so yeah...