Joe Henderson always had the respect of fellow musicians and hardcore jazz fanatics, but for a long time it seemed the closest he'd get to fame was his brief stint in Blood, Sweat & Tears (years later he reminisced, in one of my favorite interviews, about how that short period was when sax companies wanted his endorsement and gave him free horns). Hardly fair considering that he spent a quarter century ranked among the top three tenor saxophonists alive, along with Rollins and Shorter. Then, almost miraculously, Verve put together a masterful production/promotion campaign that made him more famous in his last decade than he'd ever been before. Alas, emphysema took him at age 64, but he'd managed to leave an impressive legacy with nary a misstep -- he never made a bad album, and his appearance on anyone else's album was always a mark of quality. (Why is Ptah, the...
- 4/24/2012
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Screened at Method Fest, Burbank
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screened at Method Fest, Burbank
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Three Days of Rain" is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Michael Meredith and a fitting opener for the fifth Method Fest, which spotlights independent films with an accent on acting. Inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov, Meredith has woven together a half-dozen portraits of contemporary lives-on-the-edge in this quietly searing drama. Presented under the aegis of Wim Wenders, the film deserves further festival exposure and could see art house action in the hands of the right distributor.
Opening with jazz strains, a disc jockey's mellow voice-over relaying storm predictions and striking shots of an unfamiliar skyline, "Three Days" introduces its six central figures, residents of Cleveland, through elliptical scenes. The seventh main character is the rain-drenched cityscape itself, shot in a moody blue palette by director of photography Cynthia Pusheck, whose elegant, compelling visuals are a crucial unifying element. Deftly avoiding a frequent pitfall of multiple-character studies, Meredith does not impose a uniform performance style on his cast, instead allowing each to find the pulse of the role. And in Meredith's strong script, every role is a gem of understated complexity.
Football great Don Meredith (the filmmaker's father) is a strong presence here, setting the tone as a cabbie who moves through his days with a restless melancholy. Reeling from a recent loss, he seeks comfort from strangers, but his blank, stunned sadness is met at every turn with self-centered dramas -- most strikingly in Blythe Danner's darkly comic cameo as one of his fares.
In the most direct expression of these stories' Old World roots, a tile maker (Michael Santoro) whose work is ruined by the rain beseeches God with a why-me lament and relentlessly pursues a widow (Penny Allen) who owes him money. Peter Falk plays another character seeking cash, but Waldo's search is chronic. A retiree on an endless pub-crawl, he repeatedly phones his son to finagle loans he'll never repay. Falk captures the duplicity, contrition and maudlin charm of the alcoholic with an incisiveness so real it's hard to watch at times.
While there are no easy answers for these characters, some provide more clear-cut rooting interests than others. Erick Avari brings a simmering intensity to the role of Alex, a well-heeled professional whose encounter with a man living on the street throws his entire life into question and fuels his growing resolve to choose kindness over convention.
But not everyone has that option. Two of the most affecting story lines involve characters who must endure cruelty that is anything but casual. As a developmentally disabled janitor being set up by his boss (Chuck Cooper), Joey Bilow creates a childlike character without sentimentalizing him. Tess (Merle Kennedy), a young heroin addict tethered to brutal circumstances, is a composite of delicacy and steely despair.
Commenting on one another but never intersecting, the vignettes are juxtaposed with increasing urgency, thanks in large part to the heartbeat-precise editing of Peter Przygodda and Sabine Hoffman. The running commentary of Bob Belden's jazz score and Lyle Lovett's DJ patter underscores the sense of connectedness, which culminates in a visual symphony of Edward Hopper images: near-empty diners and lonely rooms, new lovers about to face the morning. "Three Days" eloquently taps into the aching, resilience and battered hope at the heart of Chekhov's fiction.
THREE DAYS OF RAIN
Maximon Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Michael Meredith
Producers: Bill Stockton, Robert Casserly
Executive producers: Henry Herzing, Roger St. Cyr
Director of photography: Cynthia Pusheck
Production designer: Scott Wittmer
Music: Bob Belden
Costume designer: Bobby Brewer-Wallin
Editors: Peter Przygodda, Sabine Hoffman
Cast:
Waldo: Peter Falk
John: Don Meredith
Thunder: Michael Santoro
Tess: Merle Kennedy
Alex: Erick Avari
Dennis: Joey Bilow
Jim: Chuck Cooper
Helen: Penny Allen
Woman in Cab: Blythe Danner:
Disc Jockey: Lyle Lovett
Lisa: Heather Kafka
Running time -- 96 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 4/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Blind Spot
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Less an organic creation than a debut indie film compendium of cliches designed to impress, "Blind Spot", written, produced, directed and edited by Stephan Woloszczuk, is a stupefying and pretentious road movie that has the good fortune to have as one of its stars James Franco. The presence of this talented young actor, a Golden Globe winner for last year's James Dean biopic, might provide some attention to a film that would otherwise languish in film festival purgatory.
The plot, or as much of it as could be discerned through half-closed eyes, has to do with Danny (Franco), a prep school dropout whose best friend, Darcy, suddenly vanishes. Shorn of possessions and clothing, Danny attempts to search for Darcy accompanied by two strangers: Darcy's comely blond girlfriend, April (Shawn Montgomery), and ex-con Wayne Mark Patrick Gleason). The trio embark on a road trip from Los Angeles, traveling through the desert and experiencing a series of adventures as they are pursued by a group of mobsters.
The filmmaker attempts to inject weirdness into the proceedings via a variety of stylistic devices, the most annoying of which is a series of still photo montages that gives the film the air of an avant-garde video. Even worse is the portentous narration, infused with film noir-style cliches that produce unintentional laughs.
The performers have charisma and sex appeal (Montgomery scores mostly in the latter department), and the film does boast some well-composed visuals, but ultimately this road trip is as much of an ordeal for the audience as it is for the main characters.
Three Days of Rain
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Michael Meredith's feature debut, a modern-day adaptation of six short stories by Chekhov, demonstrates the pitfalls of transplanting writing from another era into a contemporary idiom.
Chekhov's stories and plays are hard enough to bring off when done faithfully, let alone when altering their entire milieu. Still, there's a quiet emotionalism to the film that is sometimes moving, and the enterprising filmmaker has assembled a fine cast. "Three Days of Rain" is receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The title refers to the fact that all of the events of the film, which involves six different sets of characters, take place during a non-stop torrential downpour in Cleveland. The vignettes include the story of a tile maker desperately trying to procure the money he's owed by a recently widowed client; a couple nearly torn apart by their conflicting attitudes toward a particularly polite beggar; a heroin addict trying to prevent her child from the same fate; an alcoholic pensioner at the end of his financial rope; a cabdriver mourning the recent death of his son; and a mentally challenged laborer being manipulated out of his job.
Unfortunately, few of the stories carry any real dramatic weight, with the result that the film — relying more on mood than on narrative momentum — is far more lugubrious than involving. But there are occasionally powerful moments along the way, and Bob Belden's evocative jazz score adds greatly to the overall atmosphere. The large cast —which includes Peter Falk and, in cameos, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett — brings a strong sense of conviction to the material.
Public Enemy
Udine Far East Film Festival
UDINE, Italy — This quirky cop drama from Korea takes a big chance by slipping back and forth from violent drama to slapstick. But director Kang Woo-suk guides the film so effortlessly between the two genres, they seem like a natural fit. Playing at Italy's Udine Far East Film Festival, where it was a hit with audiences, "Public Enemy" proves that there is much life left in Korean cinema's commercial renaissance. Domestically, it is the highest-grossing Korean film so far this year and should have no trouble attracting moviegoers in Asian territories. Foreign distribution is a strong possibility, providing distributors want to brave the language gap.
Director Kang Woo-suk ("Two Cops") came to prominence during the days of Korean New Cinema, the art-house movement that wowed international critics during the early 1990s.
The story is typical "Dirty Harry". Grungy detective Kang knows he's on the right track when he collars a yuppie for the vicious murder of his parents. But Kang's superiors force him to lay off the suspect, who has no motive for patricide. Kang is demoted to traffic cop but turns up a crucial piece of evidence that allows him to avenge the murdered couple in the name of society-at-large.
The story line is straightforward, but the exposition is original. The scenes featuring the villain are gory and intentionally lack humor. But Kang's investigation leads him into genuinely hilarious situations. One involves a couple of camp gangsters who rap about knife-play. Another sees him single-handedly beat up an impossible number of young thugs. Actor Sol Kyung-gul ("Peppermint Candy") pitches Kang so that he can effortlessly move from Chuck Norris to Leslie Nielsen without jarring the viewer. Lee Sung-ji makes a nice counterpoint by portraying the cruel killer as ice-cold throughout.
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Less an organic creation than a debut indie film compendium of cliches designed to impress, "Blind Spot", written, produced, directed and edited by Stephan Woloszczuk, is a stupefying and pretentious road movie that has the good fortune to have as one of its stars James Franco. The presence of this talented young actor, a Golden Globe winner for last year's James Dean biopic, might provide some attention to a film that would otherwise languish in film festival purgatory.
The plot, or as much of it as could be discerned through half-closed eyes, has to do with Danny (Franco), a prep school dropout whose best friend, Darcy, suddenly vanishes. Shorn of possessions and clothing, Danny attempts to search for Darcy accompanied by two strangers: Darcy's comely blond girlfriend, April (Shawn Montgomery), and ex-con Wayne Mark Patrick Gleason). The trio embark on a road trip from Los Angeles, traveling through the desert and experiencing a series of adventures as they are pursued by a group of mobsters.
The filmmaker attempts to inject weirdness into the proceedings via a variety of stylistic devices, the most annoying of which is a series of still photo montages that gives the film the air of an avant-garde video. Even worse is the portentous narration, infused with film noir-style cliches that produce unintentional laughs.
The performers have charisma and sex appeal (Montgomery scores mostly in the latter department), and the film does boast some well-composed visuals, but ultimately this road trip is as much of an ordeal for the audience as it is for the main characters.
Three Days of Rain
Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK — Michael Meredith's feature debut, a modern-day adaptation of six short stories by Chekhov, demonstrates the pitfalls of transplanting writing from another era into a contemporary idiom.
Chekhov's stories and plays are hard enough to bring off when done faithfully, let alone when altering their entire milieu. Still, there's a quiet emotionalism to the film that is sometimes moving, and the enterprising filmmaker has assembled a fine cast. "Three Days of Rain" is receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The title refers to the fact that all of the events of the film, which involves six different sets of characters, take place during a non-stop torrential downpour in Cleveland. The vignettes include the story of a tile maker desperately trying to procure the money he's owed by a recently widowed client; a couple nearly torn apart by their conflicting attitudes toward a particularly polite beggar; a heroin addict trying to prevent her child from the same fate; an alcoholic pensioner at the end of his financial rope; a cabdriver mourning the recent death of his son; and a mentally challenged laborer being manipulated out of his job.
Unfortunately, few of the stories carry any real dramatic weight, with the result that the film — relying more on mood than on narrative momentum — is far more lugubrious than involving. But there are occasionally powerful moments along the way, and Bob Belden's evocative jazz score adds greatly to the overall atmosphere. The large cast —which includes Peter Falk and, in cameos, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett — brings a strong sense of conviction to the material.
Public Enemy
Udine Far East Film Festival
UDINE, Italy — This quirky cop drama from Korea takes a big chance by slipping back and forth from violent drama to slapstick. But director Kang Woo-suk guides the film so effortlessly between the two genres, they seem like a natural fit. Playing at Italy's Udine Far East Film Festival, where it was a hit with audiences, "Public Enemy" proves that there is much life left in Korean cinema's commercial renaissance. Domestically, it is the highest-grossing Korean film so far this year and should have no trouble attracting moviegoers in Asian territories. Foreign distribution is a strong possibility, providing distributors want to brave the language gap.
Director Kang Woo-suk ("Two Cops") came to prominence during the days of Korean New Cinema, the art-house movement that wowed international critics during the early 1990s.
The story is typical "Dirty Harry". Grungy detective Kang knows he's on the right track when he collars a yuppie for the vicious murder of his parents. But Kang's superiors force him to lay off the suspect, who has no motive for patricide. Kang is demoted to traffic cop but turns up a crucial piece of evidence that allows him to avenge the murdered couple in the name of society-at-large.
The story line is straightforward, but the exposition is original. The scenes featuring the villain are gory and intentionally lack humor. But Kang's investigation leads him into genuinely hilarious situations. One involves a couple of camp gangsters who rap about knife-play. Another sees him single-handedly beat up an impossible number of young thugs. Actor Sol Kyung-gul ("Peppermint Candy") pitches Kang so that he can effortlessly move from Chuck Norris to Leslie Nielsen without jarring the viewer. Lee Sung-ji makes a nice counterpoint by portraying the cruel killer as ice-cold throughout.
- 5/16/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Tribeca Film Festival
Michael Meredith's feature debut, a modern-day adaptation of six short stories by Chekhov, demonstrates the pitfalls of transplanting writing from another era into a contemporary idiom.
Chekhov's stories and plays are hard enough to bring off when done faithfully, let alone when altering their entire milieu. Still, there's a quiet emotionalism to the film that is sometimes moving, and the enterprising filmmaker has assembled a fine cast. "Three Days of Rain" is receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The title refers to the fact that all of the events of the film, which involves six different sets of characters, take place during a non-stop torrential downpour in Cleveland (a thankfully not overexposed film location). The vignettes include the story of a tile maker desperately trying to procure the money he's owed by a recently widowed client; a couple nearly torn apart by their conflicting attitudes towards a particularly polite beggar; a heroin addict trying to prevent her child from the same fate; an alcoholic pensioner at the end of his financial rope; a cabdriver mourning the recent death of his son; and a mentally challenged laborer being manipulated out of his job.
Unfortunately, few of the stories carry any real dramatic weight, with the result that the film, relying more on mood than on narrative momentum, is far more lugubrious than involving. But there are occasionally powerful moments along the way, and Bob Belden's evocative jazz score adds greatly to the overall atmosphere. The large cast, which includes such notable performers as Peter Falk and, in cameos, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett, bring a strong sense of conviction to the material.
Michael Meredith's feature debut, a modern-day adaptation of six short stories by Chekhov, demonstrates the pitfalls of transplanting writing from another era into a contemporary idiom.
Chekhov's stories and plays are hard enough to bring off when done faithfully, let alone when altering their entire milieu. Still, there's a quiet emotionalism to the film that is sometimes moving, and the enterprising filmmaker has assembled a fine cast. "Three Days of Rain" is receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The title refers to the fact that all of the events of the film, which involves six different sets of characters, take place during a non-stop torrential downpour in Cleveland (a thankfully not overexposed film location). The vignettes include the story of a tile maker desperately trying to procure the money he's owed by a recently widowed client; a couple nearly torn apart by their conflicting attitudes towards a particularly polite beggar; a heroin addict trying to prevent her child from the same fate; an alcoholic pensioner at the end of his financial rope; a cabdriver mourning the recent death of his son; and a mentally challenged laborer being manipulated out of his job.
Unfortunately, few of the stories carry any real dramatic weight, with the result that the film, relying more on mood than on narrative momentum, is far more lugubrious than involving. But there are occasionally powerful moments along the way, and Bob Belden's evocative jazz score adds greatly to the overall atmosphere. The large cast, which includes such notable performers as Peter Falk and, in cameos, Blythe Danner and Lyle Lovett, bring a strong sense of conviction to the material.
- 5/16/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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