Being Paul Giamatti

After being bought for £3 in an HMV sale and me having never heard of it, today's film is an adventure of sorts. One of the first films I have ever bought without any form of knowledge of it. I suppose you could call it 'going in blind'. The DVD box covered with stars intrigued me and, with change jingling in my pocket, begging to be spent, I gave in and here it is. This is Cold Souls.

Paul Giamatti, playing himself, feels like he has a lot of weight, not on his shoulders, but on his soul. He is rehearsing for Chekov's play, Vanya, and he the emotional depth of the play is taking its toll on him. Fortunately for Paul, his agent may have found a solution - a company that allows you to remove your soul and store it safely. Naturally, Giamatti jumps onto this idea and has his soul removed from his body to put into storage until after the play. Once he pushes past the fact that his soul looks a little like a chickpea, he attempts to carry on with his life but he finds his acting and marriage affected by his new soulless-ness. He opts to rent the soul of a Russian poet, which does wonders for his acting, however, it comes with a price. He begins to see aspects of the borrowed soul's previous owner's life and he becomes filled with sorrow and decides he wants his own soul back. One small issue: It is St. Petersburg. With the help of Nina (Dina Korzun), a Russian soul trafficker, he goes on a quest to get his soul back.

Giamatti also visits the hospital for his fear of goggles.

At its core, Cold Souls is a one man show. Unlike the similarly meta Being John Malkovich, which has four main characters, Cold Souls sole focus of the film is Giamatti's adventures in, what can only be described as, discovering himself. And he nails it. Having to play, essentially, three different characters but still remain himself the entire time can surely not be an easy task and yet Giamatti makes it look effortless. Perhaps it is all a documentary and he did have his soul removed. That's how convincing his portrayal of, well, himself is. His supporting cast are exactly that - supporting. This is Giamatti's time to shine. This isn't to say there's any issue in the supporting cast; they all bring something to the film, be it comedy or more touching, heartfelt emotions.

Giamatti and a psychologist review George Bush's brain.

An interesting, and somewhat philosophical, look at the nature of humanity and a commentary on a mid-life crisis. It explores the idea of being happy with what you have and all of this whilst being hilarious. More than just a comedy, Cold Souls is touching and artistic but, sadly, drags in the second act. The comedy seeps away and everything becomes a bit too serious. It is a film that seems unsure of what it is, perhaps reflecting its plot a little too much. By starting as a strong comedy and turning into a drama, Cold Souls creates a sort of ambivalence towards its genre; moving from one to the other too jarringly, focused only on the story it wants to tell. As we all know, how you go about telling a story is half of the challenge. But do not be put off, the first half is excellent, the second half is touching and beautiful, if not jarring.

A fun film that brings inspiration from Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and Being John Malkovich, as well as the episode of The Simpsons were Bart sells his soul. Fans of any or all of the above should enjoy. A solidly acted film even if there are issues in the way in which it is presented.

Best Bit? Some of the earliest moments of the film are priceless, though the time in which Paul Giamatti has no soul takes the biscuit. Possibly offensive, but very funny.

Killers, Gangsters, and Writers.

Four short years ago, director/writer Martin McDonagh released an almost immediate hit, In Bruges. A black comedy about assassins running around Belgium contemplating life and death. It is regarded by this humble blogger as one of the greatest films ever made. So imagine the film world's joy upon hearing that McDonagh was releasing a new film based around psychopaths, seven of them. A film that is so meta it hurts, this is Seven Psychopaths.

Out in America, Irish screenwriter, Marty (Colin Farrell) , is writing a new film called Seven Psychopaths. Anyone spot the meta yet? He is having trouble finding inspiration for the stories behind each of his psychopaths and eventually his good friend, Billy (Sam Rockwell), steps in to help, despite objections from Marty. Billy, however, does introduce him to his first psychopath, The Jack of Diamonds, and puts out an advert for any other psychopaths to share their story. This is how Marty gains Zachariah's (Tom Waits) story and two more psychopaths for his film. But Billy leads a life that is likely to get Martin in trouble; he kidnaps dogs for a man named Hanz (Christopher Walken), who promptly returns them for the reward money. Things get out of hand when Billy steals gang boss Charlie's (Woody Harrelson) shih tzu, Bonny (Bonny) and the dog-napping pair and Marty have to hide away from the gang after them. They head into the desert and, as a trio, keep trying to write the screenplay based on the people they've met, the stories they've heard, and what is happening to them in their lives.

This is Christopher Walken holding an adorable puppy.
You're welcome.

When you put several black comedy favourites in one film you are always going to have a good time with your cast. Rockwell shines brighter than the sun in and amongst the dark hilarity. Constantly funny and holds the entire script together by his longing for something more interesting to happen. Billy's peculiar ways of helping Marty only complicate everything further and Rockwell plays it with such a dark naivety that you cannot help but love him but also never, ever want to meet him. Farrell, Harrelson, and Walken all do their parts strong justice. Farrell, as Marty, is ideal for the out-of-his-depth straight man in a world that is too bizarre for him to comprehend. The exasperation, confusion, stress, and anger are all clearly and hilariously portrayed by Farrell to great success. Harrelson is a true psychopath. A soft natured man, caring only for his dog, but who will easily put anyone down who stands in his way, all without acknowledging his own insanity and judging others on theirs. And Walken. Well, everything he does is hilarious unless it is meant to be touching and if that is the case, then you will be touched. A fantastic comic ensemble.

An idea of what the film is not like.
Though this is a scene from the film... It's complicated.

In terms of writing, Seven Psychopaths is nothing short of a piece of genius. It should be nominated for Best Original Screenplay at least. The dialogue will have you constantly snickering and giggling and belly laughing but yet the film is extremely clever. Subverting every expectation of film making at some point and making it work so well is a rarity. As with a lot of McDonagh's work, it also analyses life and death, as well as sanity and people as a whole. How does it fit all that in one film without dropping in quality? It should not work, but it simply does. Some amazing twists and turns along the way but the whole 'film within a film' concept is used so brilliantly that you cannot hep but to want to watch more. The fourth wall is almost non-existent at some points - see Billy look to Marty, almost straight down the camera, and say, 'The film ends my way,' before doing exactly the opposite of what Marty had said he wanted to happen in his screenplay. The post-modernism can even hurt your brain.

A really funny, fresh film. An incredible comic cast and some amazing writing don't just make this a great film, but also likely to be one of your new favourites. Everything is so engaging and enjoyable that it is impossible not to want to watch it again. No doubt it will be a cult classic. (Also works as a perfect prequel to Harrelson's character in Zombieland.)

Best Bit? A lot of people's favourite moment I'm sure, but Billy's imagining of the 'final shoot out scene' is possibly the funniest thing in any recent film.