>>REVIEW
THE DYING GAUL
Directed by Craig Lucas
Sony, 2005
If you find yourself at the video store this week and the thought of renting Hollowman 2 crosses your mind, stop yourself, take a deep breath and try remembering the title The Dying Gaul. It’s a film that didn’t make a huge splash in theatres, but found critical acclaim and some recognition on the film festival circuit.
Is it an amazingly life-changing film? No. Is it a brutally awful film? Definitely not. First-time Director Craig Lucas has crafted a small, intimate film concerning a love triangle (well, actually, it’s more of a square) involving a Hollywood executive (Campbell Scott), his wife (Patricia Clarkson), a gay writer (Peter Sarsgaard) and his lover. What starts off as a seemingly simple story of a man fighting to stay true to himself while trying to find a place in Hollywood, soon turns into a complex web of deception, lies and pain.
Clarkson, Sarsgaard and Scott are solid in their roles and succeed in making audiences feel the inner struggles of these characters as they try to wade through emotions that range from selfishness to love, and lust to hate. Each one of them is definitely flawed and their actions not always pure in motive, but still, they are personally conflicted enough to generate a small amount of sympathy from viewers.
The most intriguing and creative portions of the film involve interaction between the characters in online chat rooms. A totally appropriate setting because in today’s world it is these exact places where lies and deception are common as people mask themselves behind usernames and keystrokes. These chatting scenes give the film its emotional core and showcase the filmmaker’s visual creativity.
The Dying Gaul does have its share of flaws but none are big enough to diminish this interesting and edgy film. |
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