Jonathan Demme's directing is something to applaud. It is not easy to make a movie exciting when you just have one man sitting behind the desk talking for an hour and a half. Credit must be given to his and Spaulding Gray's planning of camera angles, editing, lights, simple but effective visuals, and of course Laurie Anderson's great soundtrack. But that's where the fun ends. Spaulding Gray manages to do a convincing job sounding like he's a brilliant observer of life and free nature, but he comes across as sad and arrogant in a weird way. Here's a man who seems to be playing around with moral relativism as he talks about his experiences with prostitutes in Thailand and about understanding why Pol Pot was so ruthless. But while he quietly decried the Killing Fields film director's view that there are moral absolutes in life, I felt uncomfortable. Gray seems to be one of those guys who seems to like pulling down everything in life (if it gets him some attention and makes people think what a smart and amusing guy he is). Oh sure, he definitely has a way with prose and meter as he pours out his speeches in aloof fashion. He is a talented man. But if one were to really agree with his nihilistic outlook on life, I could see not much of a reason for living. And it is even sadder given his suicide that happened years later.
He is wrong. There is purpose to life and there is GOOD as well as evil. So, while the film is a technical masterwork and Gray was no doubt extremely talented, I am am giving it a 5 for his nihilistic message trying to pass as "deep".
He is wrong. There is purpose to life and there is GOOD as well as evil. So, while the film is a technical masterwork and Gray was no doubt extremely talented, I am am giving it a 5 for his nihilistic message trying to pass as "deep".