Levity (2003)
"Having these
actors and creative artists involved with 'Levity'
is like being given a Ferrari for your first car..."
- Director Ed Solomon
It's sad when a film with as much
talent as "Levity" somehow misses the mark. Things
just don't seem to come off here. Ed Solomon, who
wrote for "It's the Garry Shandling Show" in the 80's
before turning to features like the "Bill and Ted"
series and "Men in Black" tries his hand at scripting
and directing for the first time here. When closer
scrutiny to Solomon's career reveals that he also
scripted "Super Mario Brothers" and "What Planet Are
You From?" the inclination for problems seem to be
a bit more clear.
But Solomon no doubt has good intentions
here. His script is full of important and solemn themes
like guilt and redemption as well as the whole meaning
of life and the existence of God. He has a cast of
extraordinary talent like Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan
Freeman, Holly Hunter and Kirsten Dunst. He has The
Coen Brothers' amazing cinematographer Roger Deakins.
And the reason all of this doesn't
quite work is simple: Everyone tries a bit too hard.
The whole film feels forced and contrived because
everyone is taking things so seriously that it all
falls apart. Albeit, Thornton tries to relax in the
role when it truly requires someone far more tense
and dour. But the rest of the cast's problems aren't
as easy to peg. Freeman tries to freeform his role
when it calls for someone far more dark and mysterious.
It's obvious he's having a blast but we aren't. Dunst
has to undergo a metamorphosis so obviously contrived
that even Meryl Streep would have trouble essaying
it. Solomon has written his little heart out and everyone
tries so hard to make it work that it simply doesn't.
Perhaps Solomon was reticent to direct his big name
actors to work harder to peg these characters. Thornton
and Freeman most definitely need to be reigned in.
He trusts their instincts as much as his own and,
in the end, they force too much into what they are
trying to do. It's sad.
Another problem with the film is
its tertiary cast, which consistently makes the film
wooden and unrealistic. Early in the film, Thornton's
character runs into a man he hasn't seen in 20 years.
Almost immediately after this, they have a second,
nastier run-in. None of this works because it would
take an extraordinary actor to pull of such contrivances
and Dorain Harewood, the actor cast here, just can't
accomplish the subtlties required. Likewise the cast
of young ethnic types called upon to portray the troubled
youth that Freeman ministers to are just awful. They
can't even play basketball convincingly, let alone
act.
Had this film been made by a recently
released film school grad, it may have worked. Solomon,
of course, was trying to prove that he could direct
as well as script and the sad reality is he can't.
He's far too heavy-handed. He forces every idea that
he has into the script and seems incapable of getting
anything to flow naturally. What he hasn't learned,
it seems, is that if you are going to be pretentiously
sober, then you should be so pretentiously sober that
it becomes the film's "Style." Solomon insists on
leading us by the nose through his script and pointing
out every little nuance that he has fabricated. Here's
a clue: When you work to point something out, it is
no longer a "nuance."
A perfect example of this is a scene
mid-film where we meet Dunst's character's mother.
She is obviously a complete wreck, an alcoholic and
drug addict. Solomon doesn't trust us to discern this
(or his actor to essay it) so he tries to pull of
this huge dolly-in shot where the mother picks up
a conveniently placed bottle of alcohol in the foreground
while Dunst and Thornton talk in the background. It's
the worst kind of direction because it treats the
audience as too stupid to understand. Solomon is so
pretentious, he thinks we won't get it unless he slaps
us in the face with it. Much of the film is like this.
And while I like pretension as an artform, I don't
like a film that presumes I'm an idiot.
All of this is not to say that "Levity"
is worthless. Those far less interested in cinematics
and far more forgiving towards contrivances may find
a really likeable and realistic film that offers hope
of redemption and the grace of honesty. Holly Hunter
gives a flawless performance and even brings a tear
to the eye in the film's epilogue. (She's the only
actor to "nail it" here). And soap star Geoffrey Wigdor
provides one of the most angelic innocents ever to
grace the screen as Abner.
"Levity" may seem like a misnomer,
but that's exactly the point. In a world full of serious
issues, full of fear, death, grief, poverty, and violence,
the lightness, the levity, of forgiveness is of vast
importance.
Mr. Solomon, I forgive you for creating
a wooden and contrived film. After all, your heart
was in the right place.
Notes:
Freeman is an Executive Producer
as is Fred Schepisi.
Score by EELS frontman Mark Oliver
Everett.
Filmed in Montreal, Canada.
Viewed in Austin in March 2003 at
a press screening at The Dobie.
