The Big Empty (2003)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Steve Anderson

Writer:

Steve Anderson (writer)

Release Date:

28 August 2009 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Cowboys. Aliens. Blue suitcases and bowling balls. Strange things are happening out in the middle of nowhere.

Plot:

A budding actor is faced with a stalled career and a mountain of debt.

Plot Keywords:

Budding Actor | Desert | Gas Station | Bed | Neighbor

Cast

Jon Favreau	...	John Person
Joey Lauren Adams	...	Grace
Bud Cort	...	Neely
Jon Gries	...	Elron
Daryl Hannah	...	Stella
Adam Beach	...	Randy
Gary Farmer	...	Indian Bob
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Ruthie
Brent Briscoe	...	Dan
Melora Walters	...	Candy
Kelsey Grammer	...	Agent Banks
Sean Bean	...	Cowboy
Alejandra Aguilan	...	Traveler
Jay Brothers	...	Traveler
Sara Fouts	...	Traveler

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual dialogue.

Runtime:

USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:MA | USA:R | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Baker, California, USA

Company:

Aura Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: Bob drives off from the circle over his own tracks (3-point turn), but in the rotating shot in the morning, his tracks run off in a smooth curve like he simply drove forward in a tight turn.

Quotes:

Cowboy: There's been a little hitch in the giddy-up.

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

HONKYTONK MANIAC FROM MARS

Coen Brothers Meet David Lynch

Ever wonder what you would have if the Coen brothers collaborated with David Lynch on a small independent film? Destined for cult classic status, "The Big Empty" is a strange blend of "Mulholland Drive" and "The Big Lebowski". So if you liked either or both of these classics you should track down the DVD, it has important special features that shed a little light on just what writer/director Steve Anderson was trying to communicate with this interesting film.

I have beefed up this comment a little since my original viewing because I have found "The Big Empty" gets even better with repeated viewings. The wry humor can best be enjoyed when you are not wrestling with the process of the story itself.

I have heard that there are deleted scenes that show him taking this thing in the direction of the old "Twilight Zone" episode where the aliens entice humans to a planetary paradise with a book titled "Serving Humans", which actually turns out to be a cook book. There are also elements reminiscent of that suicide cult in San Diego in the mid-1990's.

"The Big Empty" has some relatively big names in its cast including Kelsey Grammar (a FBI agent), Joe Gries (from "The Pretender"), Rachel Leigh Cook (the town Lolita), and Darryl Hannah (Lolita's Mother). For the first time a Cook character is very sexy, it must be the hair style. The performances and deadpan humor save the day as the story itself is a little too expressionistic and open-ended for most viewers.

Although the film gets off to a quick start and is never boring, Anderson (in the Lynch tradition) has to cheat and leave some things resolved at the end, because it is simply impossible to tie all the disparate elements together conventionally. But this makes for interesting discussion with other members of "The Big Empty" cult.