MugShot (1996) User Reviews

Know why the caged bird sings

[Zen Bones · 23 July 2003]

This is a quiet, intelligent indie about a young, black would-be photographer/gang member who keeps a professional white photographer hostage. The plot is somewhat contrived since the white guy conveniently has amnesia after being beaten by the gang, and there are a couple of scenes in the film that seem rather unlikely (like him being blindfolded and handcuffed in public). However, the storytelling techniques, which are comprised of flashbacks and camera setups that make NYC seem like another planet, are used very effectively to illustrate motivation and desperation. The overall ambiance of the film is chillingly obscure, but the characters (especially Michael K Williams) give it all a penetrating warmth. And I have to say as a non-professional photographer, I think this film has some of the best looking still images I've seen in any film about photography. But don't believe that this is just another one of those artsy-fartsy student film type pictures. This film has intelligent, fascinating characters, images that alternate between beatific, surreal, frightening and sterile, and a clever use of music and sound effects. I should point out that there is a line of dialogue here and there that gets lost in some of the poor sound recording, but they are few and far between, and I felt that the muted sound quality overall helped the sense of claustrophobia. Smart new filmmakers with limited budgets know how to make use of limitations like these, and Matt Mahurin seems to be no exception. He's obviously a filmmaker who has innovative ideas on issues of race, identity and the lure of power. I hope he'll continue to make films, but I hope no one gives him a lot of money to do so since after all, it's not about how slick the film looks, it's how deeply its images penetrate your mind. On that level, this film succeeds brilliantly.

Distractingly cluttered with "art"

[jtur88 · 1/10 · 4 June 2002]

IFC aired this film in its "next wave" series, and considering that it had been released 7 years earlier, the next wave is slow on the uptake. This is a mindless clutter of odd lighting, odd camera shots, and worst of all, a sound-track that seems to have had a lot of roll-off or something to filter out all but the most jarring ambient sound, making the dialog excruciatingly difficult to understand (except parts that were sharpened by the effect of being heard on the telephone). I have no problem with "experimental" film, provide the director is experimenting with something that has the potential to add some new, essential element to the future of cinema. But all I saw in this was a lot of old puerile stuff that had already been tried by the Germans (or were they Prussians then?)

A visually amazing treat

[Asa-2 · 10/10 · 11 August 1998]

I saw MugShot at the London Film festival last year, and was blown away. The visuals are stunning, with great composition of each shot. The story (a white photographer is mugged in Harlem and suffers amnesia; one of his attackers is a would-be photographer who takes over his life for a while) is interesting, and raises interesting issues about race and belonging, as well as the effects of economics on art.

The acting is OK, but it plays second fiddle to the visuals anyway, so it doesn't matter as much. Each frame of the film could be blown up into an 8x10 and displayed in a gallery. Mahurin is a still photgrapher and music video director, and the effects are apparent. In music video, you have to let the visuals tell the story, and the composition of the shots shows the influence of art photography.

I would really like to see this film again, but have been unable to find it anywhere. If anyone out there does know where a copy could be obtained, I 'd be very grateful.