Beautifully filmed with a hallmark noir smoky narrative by Billy Zane, who plays the main character, Marty Lakewood. All the characters in this movie, like this movie, are intriguing but so very flawed. But then, aren't we all? The cast was superb, Rue Mclanahan as a feeble mother whose life has outplayed her strength, Billy Zane as Marty Lakewood, a complex parasitic character driven, or being driven, by an ethos perhaps only he understands. Sheryl Lee was phenomenal as a character so desperately needy it blurs your vision, and Gina Gershon plays the twin sister to Marty Lakewood, and she is simultaneously vulnerable and calloused. I can't really tie this movie down with any certainty, but it lingered with me for days, and that is a hallmark of something good. There are some clunky scenes, some gorgeous scenes and there are beautiful diaphanous elements of human nature- there is a dim light within apathy and arrogance, a bond within self indulgence and narcissism- I think the movie is definitely worth checking out.
Review of This World, Then the Fireworks
