Dallas 362 (2005)
Pushy, smug and little more than
cinematic showboating on its surface, "Dallas 362"
is saved by the amazing performances of Shawn Hatosy,
Jeff Goldblum and Kelly Lynch. Certainly Scott Caan,
the young actor son of James, doesn't particularly
distinguish himself as a director or actor here. His
film is all fits and starts, uneven and unfocused.
At times it's a crime drama, at times a buddy movie,
at times a love story, at times a redemption story,
at times an over-the-top comedy. Yet, thanks to Hatosy,
Goldblum and Lynch, what he has put together works
amazingly well.
Hatosy, who grew up and got fat
after being noted as a hottie in films like "In and
Out" and the hilarious and sadly overlooked "Outside
Providence," certainly proves his worth as an actor
here. He carries this film with mad, Herculean thespian
skills. His Rusty is complex, interesting and likeable.
Hatosy makes the character real enough to be honest
and charming enough to be real. This is a great performance.
Yes, Caan has scripted this character, but it Hatosy
who inhabits Rusty and makes him work in a real and
tangible way. The most obvious example of this is
an early scene in a diner where Rusty meets a girl
(Marley Shelton) and recites some of the most ridiculous
and contrived "meet cute" dialogue ever to be captured
on celluloid. Hatosy nails it and makes it work. It
is doubtful that any other actor of his generation
could do better.
The scenes the young actor shares
with Goldblum are charged with electricity. Goldblum
digs up his old bumbling, intellectual, motormouth
here to play a psychiatrist dating Rusty's mom and
the chemistry he and Hatosy have here is simply amazing.
Watching these two together makes the film totally
worth every second. Likewise, when Lynch plays off
Hatosy or Goldblum, the screen is equally charged
with tactile electricity. This is the heart of the
film. The stuff between Caan's titular loser Dallas
and Hatosy's Rusty pale in comparison.
Where Caan does distinguish himself
is in the writing. There's a lot of subtext going
on in "Dallas 362." In many ways, one could argue
that Dallas is simply an extension of Rusty's psyche
and not a real person at all. Their comradery is complex
and interesting.
And the homoerotic element of their
relationship cannot be swept under the rug. While
this is only mildly sexual (a scene where Dallas urinates
in front of Rusty is intriguing), it is most assuredly
deeper than just friendship or brotherhood. In many
ways, the film could be considered a treatise on male
bonding but there seems to be something even more
complex than this going on. Whatever he is getting
at here, one must admit that Caan's story is bold
and daring when it comes to exploring an intensely
deep personal relationship between two young men.
But behind the camera and in the
editing room, Caan consistently opts to play it cool.
Like thousands of young film students before him,
it often appears that he's trying to direct the next
"Pulp Fiction." His artsy montage segments are cool
and unique but too often then film falls into quirky
shenanigans for no apparent reason at all. One of
the biggest examples of this kind of misstep is the
casting of Val Lauren as Christian. So far over the
top that he is in danger of leaving Earth's atmosphere,
Lauren plays a Jewish gambling addict that becomes
involved in a scheme with Dallas. While Lauren is
mildly amusing at first, he eventually plays much
too large a part in the film and his character becomes
caricature and unrealistic. It is nearly the undoing
of the film.
Still, "Dallas 362" is an amazing
first film. When Caan stops trying to be cool and
learns to simply tell his story, he will present us
with a masterpiece.
Notes:
Also with Selma Blair, Heavy D and
Scott's dad James Caan in minor roles.
The film was known as "Dallas and
Rusty" during production.
The film debuted at a festival in
2003 and was eventually picked up by Thinkfilm. An
arthouse run began in 2005.
Viewed at the Dobie in April 2005.
I walked into the theater to see a friend of mine
named Brandon and one of his cute friends. We talked
a bit before the movie started. As the really bad
short film "Mary," by Aaron Ruell was shown (Landmark
has started showing short films before movies again),
local weirdo and perpetual governmental candidate,
the transgendered Jennifer Gale cam and sat in the
front row. After the movie she tried to talk to me
and I politely smiled, answered briefly and ran for
the hills.
