I haven’t done one of these posts in a while, mostly because I’ve enjoyed writing from a more personal perspective. Mister Lonely, however, is worth a post.
Remember the film Kids? It was written by Harmony Korine, who was 19 years old at the time. Since “Kids,” Korine has continued working in the industry, making multiple films with Chloë Sevigny, as well as directing music videos and even co-writing a Björk track on the 2001 album Vespertine.
Mister Lonely tells the story of a Michael Jackson impersonator, played by Diego Luna, whose dancing is almost perfectly Jacksonian. I don’t care to give away the story, but let’s just say it involves Samantha Morton as a Marilyn Monroe and it takes place on a commune, of sorts, in Scotland. Though apparently some scenes were filmed in Panama.
The film is undeniably beautiful, filled with strange, surreal images and sounds. Its pace is slow-moving and sometimes entirely incomprehensible. The costumes are perfectly executed, as is the acting.
In 2008, Korine said,
When I’m directing films, I mostly try to create an environment on set that mimics what’s in my mind, as to the tone and feel of things. I try to create a place where you feel that anything’s possible. Everyone’s in character all the time to a degree, everyone’s in costume all the time. You want to create an environment where these characters really exist, and then it’s about me finding it. A lot of times, I’ll give six or seven different scripts out with alternate endings, with different character lines, with different pieces of dialogue. A lot of times, the actors think they’re working on different films.
The unpolished, nonlinear tendency of Korine’s work is exemplified with Mister Lonely, and you find yourself thinking of more artistic movies, the ones that are almost absent of the actual storytelling process.
Plus, Werner Herzog is in it.
This may not be a movie that you remember for years to come. You may not give it five Netflix stars. But it’ll make an impression. It will take you out of your day-to-day normalcy and drop you into another world, one that you would never expect to actually exist.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Your description has invested in me an interest toward this movie, and so I am making a mental jotting of it on my “to watch” movie list. Already on it is a movie that’s been recommended to me: Big Fish directed by Tim Burton, apparently it’s very sentimental, and I’m all about the sentimentality. Also I read a review of The Reader, and from that review it sounded like a wonderful movie, and I’ve taken it upon myself to see it.
Have you seen either of those two movies? If you have I’d love to hear your take one them!
lovely post as usual =]
-Rush.
The first time I saw “Kids” I was entirely too young to understand the significance of its central theme and purpose. When I watched it again several years ago I was surprised by my own reaction. It was an interesting mix of sadness, anger, compassion, and gratitude. I found myself asking questions like “How could HE do such a thing?” and “Why have WE as a society allowed children to get to this point?”
While I certainly appreciated this movie’s uncompromising look at the startling realities that exist in our world and the director’s intent to draw attention to a widespread problem in our society, I was really put-off by the downright pornographic scenes in the movie. In my opinion, I don’t think that kind of shock-value helped his cause.
In any case, thanks for the recommendation for this new movie. I’ll be sure to check it out.
rushelstephanie, YES YES on Big Fish. Definitely one of my favorite Tim Burton’s and, I think, his best film of recent years. The imagery is INCREDIBLE and Ewan McGregor does a fantastic job. Really beautifully done. I remember crying in the movie theater — almost sobbing. It’s been years since I’ve seen it though. I can’t wait to hear what you think!
I haven’t seen The Reader yet, though I imagine I will. We’re big movie watchers in my house. ;)
Miss Musing, Well, Mister Lonely has a few sex scenes in it, but not nearly like the ones in “Kids.” However, I must warn you ahead of time, there is one scene that I found disturbing, but may not be for other people. It’s about half way through the film and fairly easy to just cover your eyes and avoid, etc. I think, in this case, it was certainly required to tell the story.
I hear you about “Kids,” though. I wrote about it awhile back, when I watched it for the second time (obviously, the first was when I was too young to get it). I, too, was really shocked by some of the bluntness of it all, but I think he really wanted to make that exact point about society, get the viewer to ask that exact question — “Why have WE as a society allowed children to get to this point?” So, in this case, I think your response was totally understandable, I think it was what Korine wanted to provoke within us.
Thank you for reminding me of this movie! I remember seeing a preview of it in the Indie theatre a long time ago. When I saw it, I thought it sounded really interesting. So I’m going to check out that, & Kids, too. :]
Thanks for the recommendation! You always have such great taste in movies.
This movie sounds wonderfully sad.