SPOILERS
This has to be one of the most unrelentingly depressing movies I have ever seen. From the very first scene, a pretentiously stylistic tableau, during which we learn that Perry Krohn (Langella), successful producer of a STAR TREK-type TV series has inoperable lung cancer, we are subjected to a never-ending stream of revelations (many of which are incredibly far-fetched and silly) relating to death: prospect of, impact of, nature of, coping with, reverberation through the generations of, irony of, cruelty of and on and on and on to the point at which death itself seems a preferable option to sitting through any more of this torture.
Although the film opens with Krohn's bad news, he is not the focal point of the movie. The screenplay roams from character to character, each of whom becomes a victim of death in one way or another. Probably the bulk of screen time is devoted to Bertie (McCarthy), Krohn's unsuccessful ex-alcoholic actor son, who in the space of 100 minutes (a surprisingly short running time for this kind of flick one's tempted to suggest that the story deserves another hour to enable us to really get to know the characters, but the fear is that this would merely serve to prolong the torture) learns that his father has terminal cancer, loses his ex-wife and daughter to a car crash, and his lover to AIDS, and then gains a surrogate son. Believe me, the storyline is as ridiculous on the movie screen as it looks on the PC screen. Having said that, it does manage (just) to avoid descending to the level of soap opera sensibility probably thanks to largely professional performances from a (too) large ensemble cast forced to battle against writer/director Wagner's unforgivable self-indulgence. The only drawbacks performance-wise are Andrew McCarthy who struggles at times in a role for which he is far too lightweight a performer, and Rosanna Arquette, who appears too old for her role and who, in an admittedly thankless role, is a little too overwrought.
While the movie's theme is abundantly clear, it's purpose is not. As a study of people's ability to cope and come to terms with death it is far too muddled and cagey (the death of Bertie's daughter and its impact on Bertie is handled particularly badly). As already mentioned, it fails to allow us to get to know the characters a device that could have been especially effective with regards to Perry's character, but he disappears from the movie for large swathes of time and so any message it may have been trying to convey is hopelessly lost.
This has to be one of the most unrelentingly depressing movies I have ever seen. From the very first scene, a pretentiously stylistic tableau, during which we learn that Perry Krohn (Langella), successful producer of a STAR TREK-type TV series has inoperable lung cancer, we are subjected to a never-ending stream of revelations (many of which are incredibly far-fetched and silly) relating to death: prospect of, impact of, nature of, coping with, reverberation through the generations of, irony of, cruelty of and on and on and on to the point at which death itself seems a preferable option to sitting through any more of this torture.
Although the film opens with Krohn's bad news, he is not the focal point of the movie. The screenplay roams from character to character, each of whom becomes a victim of death in one way or another. Probably the bulk of screen time is devoted to Bertie (McCarthy), Krohn's unsuccessful ex-alcoholic actor son, who in the space of 100 minutes (a surprisingly short running time for this kind of flick one's tempted to suggest that the story deserves another hour to enable us to really get to know the characters, but the fear is that this would merely serve to prolong the torture) learns that his father has terminal cancer, loses his ex-wife and daughter to a car crash, and his lover to AIDS, and then gains a surrogate son. Believe me, the storyline is as ridiculous on the movie screen as it looks on the PC screen. Having said that, it does manage (just) to avoid descending to the level of soap opera sensibility probably thanks to largely professional performances from a (too) large ensemble cast forced to battle against writer/director Wagner's unforgivable self-indulgence. The only drawbacks performance-wise are Andrew McCarthy who struggles at times in a role for which he is far too lightweight a performer, and Rosanna Arquette, who appears too old for her role and who, in an admittedly thankless role, is a little too overwrought.
While the movie's theme is abundantly clear, it's purpose is not. As a study of people's ability to cope and come to terms with death it is far too muddled and cagey (the death of Bertie's daughter and its impact on Bertie is handled particularly badly). As already mentioned, it fails to allow us to get to know the characters a device that could have been especially effective with regards to Perry's character, but he disappears from the movie for large swathes of time and so any message it may have been trying to convey is hopelessly lost.