All the Rage (1999)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

James D. Stern

Writer:

Keith Reddin (screenplay)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Handguns figure in the intertwining lives of nine people. Warren shoots his wife Helen's lover and his...

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Lasersight | Lolita | Paranoid | Weapon

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Joan Allen	...	Helen
Jeff Daniels	...	Warren Harding
Robert Forster	...	Tyler
Andre Braugher	...	Tim
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Agee
Anna Paquin	...	Annabel Lee
Wayne Morse	...	Clerk
David Schwimmer	...	Chris
Josh Brolin	...	Tennel
Gary Sinise	...	Morgan
January Jones	...	Janice Taylor
Deborah Offner	...	Secretary
Barb Wallace	...	Diane
Kevin Crowley	...	Ed
Robert Peters	...	Phil

Also Known As:

It's the Rage (USA) (cable TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and strong language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Peru:14 | USA:R (certificate #36917)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mutual Films International

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tim and Chris are at the table discussing what time Tim got home, the newspaper in Tim's hands changes position between shots.

Quotes:

Morgan: There's too much information!
[proceeds in shooting the multiple computer screens surrounding him]

Movie Connections:

References The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)

Soundtrack:

Have a Little Mercy

What is it?

Tonight, a few hours ago, I found myself trapped in a dilemma. It wasn't anything very big, it was just about what movie was I going to watch on Sunday evening.

Every month I write down all the movies that I'm interested in and that I could watch in TV, and I try to see them. It's a good thing to do. The deal is, that I had "Black Hawk Down" planned for Sunday 13, and I was going to watch it. But yesterday I was watching some fascinating parts of "Living in Oblivion" (I have to watch the whole film) and I heard about "It's the rage" (TV title), which is "All the Rage", right? So I wrote it down and immediately realized that the movie was starting just when "Black Hawk Down" was.

So the dilemma arrived when I had to choose which movie to watch. I thought quickly. I had "Black Hawk Down", an awarded film, directed by Riddley Scott, the man behind the masterpiece that is "Gladiator". I had the cast, with Josh Harnett (one point less), Eric Bana (don't like him), war movie (not my favorite type at all, and I think they just keep repeating the story since the first of its type). I didn't mention Ewan McGregor because he's a good actor in my opinion.

Well, then there was this film, "All the Rage", directed by a James D. Stern (don't know him), who, however, managed to get an incredible cast. Better Gary Sinise and Jeff Daniels than Josh Harnett and Eric Bana; a lot better. And there was also Joan Allen, Anna Paquin, Giovanni Ribisi, David Schwimmer; all of them and some more in alphabetical order. Although I must say it wasn't only the cast, but the trailer too, and its title, the elements that made this film interesting enough.

And there I was some hours ago, sitting in front of the TV, and watching "It's the Rage", or "All the rage" (it doesn't matter). So I met all these people, talking about guns and committing murders, so when I had seen one hour of the movie I was thinking: "Everyone's gonna die". Interesting the movie was, indeed. Interesting for me was to watch Gary Sinise in an astonishing performance (see it for yourselves), playing an eccentric millionaire tired of the world outside and hidden in his "inside" world. Sinise has the best performance in the movie, and also the best lines. Jeff Daniels is very good (but with the same face and expression he has decided to keep a long time ago) as an obsessed husband. Anna Paquin spreads talent as a young slut, taking advantage of everybody because her brother has a gun. She's religious, his brother believes. He's a punk, crazy about security and life and death played by Giovanni Ribisi. David Schwimmer seems different in his gay role, in his trance. I must also say Andre Braugher and Josh Brolin almost steal the movie with their roles. Robert Forster wanders unnoticed in an important role. And Joan Allen is just alright as a lost person, dealing with important things at the end of her life.

Am I repeating too many words here? I could be, because these are the words that make the movie and everything goes on around them. Life? Death? What are these things? Just the beginning and the end of our existence, I like to think. This film doesn't really "deal" with these things, but they are constantly present in it. "Trance" is also a word to talk about. Everything seems to be in a profound trance. There's not much music, shots are silent, the environment is strange, the camera never seems to stop, always approaching the characters until it probably hits their eyes. It all seems to be going down, like...Life probably? The end of life, better known as death? I can't even tell if this society exists; everybody's talking about guns, everybody (I say again) is in a trance, everybody walks the streets and meets. The characters in the movie eventually meet, in strange occasions, in different parts of this city. It reminded me a little bit of "Sábado" ("Saturday"), an Argentinean film I love in which different people have encounters in the city. It's wonderful. But "All the Rage", or "It's the rage" it's not wonderful at all. It says too much but does almost nothing. It tries to be thought-provoking but it ends being a mess.

I have to finish writing this, but there are many things you could discuss about this movie. It has an element, something that makes you think why it ended being the movie it is. I don't have much time now (although more time than the characters in the film). If you want to see Gary Sinise shining, watch this movie; it's the least I can say.

However, these amazing actors, for some reason chose to be in this film. Was it the rage, maybe? Was it all the rage? About the dilemma, I solved it, yes. I'll catch "Black Hawk Down" another day.