Mister Lonely (2007)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Harmony Korine

Writers:

Harmony Korine (written by) &
Avi Korine (written by)

Release Date:

2 February 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

In Paris, a young American who works as a Michael Jackson lookalike meets Marilyn Monroe, who invites him to her commune in Scotland, where she lives with Charlie Chaplin and her daughter, Shirley Temple. |

Plot Keywords:

Commune | Michael Jackson | Paris | Shirley Temple | Marilyn Monroe

Cast

Diego Luna	...	Michael Jackson
Samantha Morton	...	Marilyn Monroe
Denis Lavant	...	Charlie Chaplin
James Fox	...	The Pope
Werner Herzog	...	Father Umbrillo
Leos Carax	...	Renard
Richard Strange	...	Abraham Lincoln
Jason Pennycooke	...	Sammy Davis, Jr.
Anita Pallenberg	...	The Queen
Rachel Korine	...	Little Red Riding Hood
Joseph Morgan	...	James Dean
Melita Morgan	...	Madonna
Daniel Rovai	...	Moe Stooge
Nigel Cooper	...	Curly Stooge
Mal Whiteley	...	Larry Stooge

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK | France | Ireland | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | UK:15 | Australia:M | Mexico:B15 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Company:

GAGA Communications

Trivia:

In an interview with a newspaper in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn., Harmony Korine stated that he made several trips to Iceland to scout locations for the film. He ended up ditching that idea altogether and shooting the film in Scotland and France.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The shape of the nuns' parachutes are visible as they are falling from the plane.

Quotes:

Michael Jackson: I don't know if you know what it is like to want to be someone else, to not want to look like you look, to hate your own face and to go completely unnoticed. I have always wanted to be someone else. I have never felt comfortable the way I am. All I want is to be better than myself...

Strange, sometimes beautiful, and will haunt you afterward

I wanted to see this in the theater when it was released, but unfortunately it didn't play around here, and really, I didn't know it was out on DVD either till I stumbled across a used copy at my favorite local store.

This is a very strange film for Harmony Korinne, almost more strange than "Gummo" or "Julien Donkey Boy", but, perhaps in a different way. The film features a very eclectic cast, including two veterans of "Performance" (James Fox & Anita Pallenberg), Werner Herzog, and a cast of lesser known French and English actors, and also, Diego Luna.

The story is that of a young man (Luna)who is a Michael Jackson impersonator, but he doesn't exactly get "out of character". He's seen performing on the streets of Paris for pocket change...although no one seems very interested. He appears to just be squeaking by in life. At a performance at an retirement home, he meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, who he encounters later, only to find that she's married to a Charlie Chaplin impersonator, has a daughter that's a Shirley Temple impersonator, and they're all part of a commune in Scotland. They have no "Michael" though, so he's invited to come live with them.

So Michael goes with Marilyn (Samantha Morton) and becomes part of this little community, which includes a foul-mouthed Abe Lincoln, The Three Stooges, Queen Elizabeth (Pallenberg), The Pope (Fox), Little Red Riding Hood (Korinne's wife), Madonna, and even Buckwheat.

Despite the fact that these people seem to inhabit fantasy worlds, life goes on and things have to be done that are unpleasant, like having to kill their sheep because of disease,etc.

The little commune puts together a stage show which they spend a lot of time on, and invite all the locals to come to "The Greatest Show on Earth", and while it's all very heartfelt there are few people who attend. Tragedy strikes when one of their members decide that life is too hard and they can't go on anymore, after which Michael returns to Paris and his old life, only to find that his friends have "come with him".

As a subplot, Herzog is a priest who is also a pilot, and he has witnessed a miracle as one nun fell from the plane as they were dropping food to the needy, only to survive her fall. The nuns of this order then begin to jump from the plane and survive, and have been invited to the Vatican for an audience with the (real) Pope. Unfortunately they're unable to escape the irony of real life.

This is a haunting, beautiful, and very weird film, probably best appreciated by those familiar with Korinne's work, but others may find it fascinating as well. I found myself actually caring about the characters, and there's a few very touching moments, which is kind of different for Korinne. I'd highly recommend this. 8 out of 10.