Camille made the indie film festival circuit back in 2008 and had a limited international release. You could describe it as a black comedy with a fantasy element. The setting is somewhere down south with James Franco as Silas Parker, a parolee who is about to get married to Camille Foster (Sienna Miller), madly in love with Silas since she was six years old.
Silas has made a deal with Camille's uncle, Sheriff Foster (Scott Glenn) to marry Camille in order to stay out of prison. You might imagine that to be a trifle unethical but it's all part of the sardonic tone (as I indicated this is a black comedy). The problem with the union is that Silas can't stand Camille, particularly the fact that she talks non-stop and is overly optimistic (which clashes with his negative world view as he is an ex-con).
A half hour into the picture we're introduced to the fantasy element which effectively renders the film (as one might classify it)--as decidedly absurd. While they are on the way to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon, the motorcycle and sidecar they're riding in collides with a truck and both Silas and Camille are thrown on to the side of the road.
Silas wakes up bloodied and discovers that Camille is dead. He runs to a neighboring house where he balks at calling 911, terrorizes a mother and her child, blurts out that he's killed Camille, takes some of the strangers' money and destroys their TV set in a blind fit of rage. Consequently the police are notified and now Silas is wanted for murder.
When he returns to the scene of the accident, he finds that Camille appears to be alive. The two meet up with the old rodeo Cowboy Bob (David Carradine) who runs a sideshow featuring painted (colored) horses. Camille and Silas continue on and Cowboy Bob shows up later in a climactic scene.
Meanwhile Silas realizes that Camille is dead as her body exhibits signs of decay (all her hair falls out and she's forced to wear a red wig). Maybe this whole thing would have worked with Camille as some kind of spirit or ghost but here she's really a glorified Zombie-but oddly capable of perfect intelligent speech.
Silas feels guilty for killing Camille and gradually realizes he needs to get in touch with his softer side. When Cowboy Bob shows up again, he must put all his horses down but instead lets them all run away except for his special blue horse, which he gets on and rides into the sunset. In this scene, Cowboy Bob is signaling to Silas that death is part of life's process and he must accept it.
In the climax, Silas and Camille are on a tour boat at Niagara Falls when she disappears. Silas tries to find her but realizes she's now in the afterlife and allows himself to be shot by the police so he can join her.
The film's tone shifts from black comedy to more sentimental dramedy as Silas finds his "good side," entering the afterlife, now acknowledging that Camille was a good influence on him and that she should have treated her better while he was alive.
The performances here are actually pretty good but notably James Franco has publicly expressed how he disliked the film following its release. That's understandable given the awkward fantasy element which undermines the verisimilitude solidly established during the opening scene.
Silas has made a deal with Camille's uncle, Sheriff Foster (Scott Glenn) to marry Camille in order to stay out of prison. You might imagine that to be a trifle unethical but it's all part of the sardonic tone (as I indicated this is a black comedy). The problem with the union is that Silas can't stand Camille, particularly the fact that she talks non-stop and is overly optimistic (which clashes with his negative world view as he is an ex-con).
A half hour into the picture we're introduced to the fantasy element which effectively renders the film (as one might classify it)--as decidedly absurd. While they are on the way to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon, the motorcycle and sidecar they're riding in collides with a truck and both Silas and Camille are thrown on to the side of the road.
Silas wakes up bloodied and discovers that Camille is dead. He runs to a neighboring house where he balks at calling 911, terrorizes a mother and her child, blurts out that he's killed Camille, takes some of the strangers' money and destroys their TV set in a blind fit of rage. Consequently the police are notified and now Silas is wanted for murder.
When he returns to the scene of the accident, he finds that Camille appears to be alive. The two meet up with the old rodeo Cowboy Bob (David Carradine) who runs a sideshow featuring painted (colored) horses. Camille and Silas continue on and Cowboy Bob shows up later in a climactic scene.
Meanwhile Silas realizes that Camille is dead as her body exhibits signs of decay (all her hair falls out and she's forced to wear a red wig). Maybe this whole thing would have worked with Camille as some kind of spirit or ghost but here she's really a glorified Zombie-but oddly capable of perfect intelligent speech.
Silas feels guilty for killing Camille and gradually realizes he needs to get in touch with his softer side. When Cowboy Bob shows up again, he must put all his horses down but instead lets them all run away except for his special blue horse, which he gets on and rides into the sunset. In this scene, Cowboy Bob is signaling to Silas that death is part of life's process and he must accept it.
In the climax, Silas and Camille are on a tour boat at Niagara Falls when she disappears. Silas tries to find her but realizes she's now in the afterlife and allows himself to be shot by the police so he can join her.
The film's tone shifts from black comedy to more sentimental dramedy as Silas finds his "good side," entering the afterlife, now acknowledging that Camille was a good influence on him and that she should have treated her better while he was alive.
The performances here are actually pretty good but notably James Franco has publicly expressed how he disliked the film following its release. That's understandable given the awkward fantasy element which undermines the verisimilitude solidly established during the opening scene.