There must lie an interesting story somewhere in the lives of some of these famous writers but this utterly depressing, anecdotal bore doesn't seem to find any.
I think I get what the director Alan Rudolph is trying to show us here, that everybody thinks it must have been a laugh-riot to live in the swinging 20s, especially if you were a member of this group of despicable people, but that the reality was quite different. Come on, there must have been somebody who gave a damn about another one in the group. All what is shown, is that these people were trying to be so aloof that they all died unhappy.
I like the point, given by another comment on this page, that you really have to research deeper than watching what there is here. Get some insight from other sources than this debacle. Some have praised the performances here. I say, that there aren't any, it's just plain mannerisms. It's just people trying to look the part and trying to feel like the character they are playing. Learn how to transcend your character. This is especially true about Jennifer Jason Leigh and I think she is horrible here. She obviously wanted to take the extreme method actor's approach but for that very reason, the performance seem forced. If you want to see much better acting of a real giant in the same field, watch Cary Elwes in Cradle Will Rock as John Houseman.
I think I get what the director Alan Rudolph is trying to show us here, that everybody thinks it must have been a laugh-riot to live in the swinging 20s, especially if you were a member of this group of despicable people, but that the reality was quite different. Come on, there must have been somebody who gave a damn about another one in the group. All what is shown, is that these people were trying to be so aloof that they all died unhappy.
I like the point, given by another comment on this page, that you really have to research deeper than watching what there is here. Get some insight from other sources than this debacle. Some have praised the performances here. I say, that there aren't any, it's just plain mannerisms. It's just people trying to look the part and trying to feel like the character they are playing. Learn how to transcend your character. This is especially true about Jennifer Jason Leigh and I think she is horrible here. She obviously wanted to take the extreme method actor's approach but for that very reason, the performance seem forced. If you want to see much better acting of a real giant in the same field, watch Cary Elwes in Cradle Will Rock as John Houseman.