Don't Come Knocking (2005) User Reviews

What do you mean, "He's Gone"?

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 17 March 2006]

Greetings again from the darkness. Terribly underrated as a director, Wim Wenders has more than a couple of gems on his resume. Most notable are "Wings of Desire" and "Paris, Texas". Without question, "Don't Come Knocking" immediately jumps into the same class as those two extraordinary films. Collaborating with the insanely talented writer Sam Shepard for the first time since "Paris, Texas", Wenders offers up a character study that many of us have more in common with than we might first imagine.

With a rare appearance in a film he has written, Mr. Shepard plays Howard Spence, a washed up western film star who hits the road in search of the life he somehow missed. Admittedly, when the film opens with Howard galloping off into the desert away from the film set, my stomach began to churn as I had flashbacks to "Electric Horseman". Not long afterward, I became mesmerized by the pain of this man seeking redemption and meaning. Sure, there will be comparisons to "Broken Flowers" and many other meaning of life films, but writer Shepard never once pretends to be writing the great American self realization story. This is a VERY simple story about a handful of VERY interesting characters.

Jessica Lange (Shepard's real life honey) plays his long ago, nearly forgotten love who has never wandered from her small town Montana roots. What Shepard learns, after visiting with his mother (Eva Marie Saint) for the first time in 30 years, is that Lange has raised Shepard's son (Gabriel Mann). The focus drastically shifts for Shepard as he tries to make sense of it all. Just to add to his misery, Shepard is stalked by Sarah Polley (carrying her mom's remains in an urn), who suspects she is his daughter.

The genius of the film lies in the characters and setting. We never feel we are observing. Instead, we are part of the story. Winders camera angles really capture the thought cycles of Shepard in the motel room, at the bar and on the sofa in the road. Watching this would-be dad and these might-be kids come to terms with all of this is on one hand, slyly funny, but mostly intensely painful and intimate.

Spectacular performances by Shepard, Lange, and Eva Marie Saint, as well as strong support from Tim Roth, Polley, Mann and even the great George Kennedy make the story unfold in our reality. Wenders terrific camera work and small town setting with stunning panoramic views keep us comfortable, yet very aware. The pulsing guitar of the seemingly everywhere T Bone Burnett drives our pulse up or down depending on the scene.

This is marvelous film-making and pure joy for film lovers. At the post screening Q&A, Mr. Wenders expressed his enthusiasm for working with Mr. Shepard and creating a masterpiece out of a seemingly little story. We as movie goers are the lucky ones.

watching paint dry on a minor masterpiece

[Chris_Docker · 8/10 · 4 October 2005]

Wim Wenders' makes extraordinary movies about ordinary people. Whether the inhabitants are important personalities or 'little people', they are always especial because of their humanity.

When I did an internet movie quiz that supposedly answered the question, ¨If someone made a movie about your life, who would direct it?¨ I kinda hoped it would be Wenders. His characters are tiny flecks on a vast landscape, made infinitely interesting by fine observation and untiring attention. Each character is a mystery unravelling.

In 'Don't Come Knocking', we follow the almost incomprehensible actions of a leading Hollywood actor (played by Sam Shepherd) who absconds from a film set in the middle of the American desert. He is struggling to escape a lifelong persona of drink, drugs and women, but doesn't know what he is looking for or why he feels life has passed him by. He is nudged occasionally in the right direction by his mother, and followed by a mysterious young woman carrying her mother's ashes – and whose knowing smile gently holds back a reservoir of yet-to-be-explained emotion.

Wenders can never be accused of hurrying things along. His movies can be like watching paint dry – except that when the painting is finally ready to touch we may feel a masterpiece has just crystallized before our eyes. This is perhaps one of those occasions. Tim Roth as the inscrutable bond man tracking down the wayward actor is barely recognisable till half way through the film, so perfect is the characterisation. Sarah Polley as the mysterious Sky can almost make us burst into tears before we have any idea why, or of the secret she is holding. Shepherd plays Howard Spence with biopic-like conviction. Add a score by T-Bone Burnett that seems to suspend time in the desert with guitar chords that hang in the air, and framed scene upon scene that looks like a classic movie poster waiting to be discovered.

Don't Come Knocking is like one big Do Not Disturb sign on the things we most need to know and that no-one wants to tell us. It's why they're secret – and why we also have to know. The film takes a very long time to answer it's own puzzle but, if you can stand the pace, the result is ultimately worth it.

A slow, beautiful, meandering, improbable, poorly written, beautifully filmed film...

[secondtake · 6/10 · 12 August 2010]

Don't Come Knocking (2005)

A disappointing attempt at gritty Western aura, movie insider savvy, and creative parallel plotting and editing. It has elements of camp, of post-modern drama (references to earlier movies or movie types), and even some genuine sincerity.

There is a terrific George Kennedy, who is still active and very much making movies with his over-sized persona. There are smaller roles by several women, including a wan and frankly dull if pretty Sarah Polley. And mostly there is Sam Shepard being Sam Shepard, which is pretty good stuff. But he plays a famous actor who walks off a cheesy movie shoot into reality, and for the rest of the movie is walking as if in a dream through a reality he never quite knew existed.

I think this looked great on paper. At least until someone read the script. It just doesn't hold water, partly for the simple fact that we couldn't care less about most of these folk. In particular, the movie makers, the directors and execs are playing meaningless roles that might mean something to insiders, but to the rest of us (I'm not an insider, thankfully), it's self-indulgent and, well, boring.

What works best? Well, since the story pushes you out you look at the performances straight up, and some, like Shepard's, are strong (he reminds me of Woody Harrelson in this film, for some reason). There's the music (by T-Bone Burnett), an often used electric guitar sound with a country twang that is appealing and sometimes even evocative. And there is the filming, which is unadorned and very nice, depending on some amazing scenes, and the light and color in them. If there is ever an Oscar for scouting, for period sets that hype up the truth of a certain period, this is a good candidate. Certainly the light is romantically appealing.

But I'm stretching to see the best in a plodding film that had potential and lost its velocity very early on.

It has to be added that the director, Wim Wenders, has done some amazing work, and has his own following. But he might be trying to cash in on "Paris, Texas" which has its own small cult following, and which at least has a quirky and disturbing element to it. Here it is mostly a matter of wandering in the modern wilderness, and Wenders, I really believe, is not quite in touch with what makes America America. It feels cold and superficial. See his "Wings of Desire" for a masterpiece. Here? Have patience. Oh...and enjoy the scenery!

Hard Not to Knock It

[wmjaho · 26 January 2006]

I really wanted to like Don't Come Knocking. It's a contemporary Western by famed German director Wim Wenders, written by Pulitzer-Prize winner (and stud actor) Sam Sheppard, and including in the cast Sam's main squeeze (and my first crush) Jessica Lange. With these credentials, I would have bet that Don't Come Knocking would have been in my Top 5 at Sundance this year.

Not even close.

Here's my #1 criterion for judging a movie: Did I care about the characters? Love 'em or hate 'em, either one is OK, they just have to mean enough to me to care about what happens to them. And unfortunately, I didn't care two hoots about Howard Spence (Sheppard), the washed-up Western actor who tries to escape his past of hard living and general selfishness. I didn't even care about Doreen (Lange), a former girlfriend from a movie shot in Butte, Montana. And I certainly didn't care about Earl (Gabriel Mann), Doreen's son, no matter how over-the-top obnoxious his behavior. Maybe I did care for Sky, the Butte native played by the remarkable Sarah Polley, who was clearly the most likable and the only truly compelling character in the movie. And Tim Roth's portrayal of the studio bond man was interesting at least.

But beyond character development, this movie just didn't have any direction, suffering from the thinnest of story lines and a pace that often needed a quick kick from Howard Spence's spurs. It does feature some interesting locations and beautiful southern Utah landscapes. But that's not why we go to movies.

Wenders and Sheppard go back to their collaboration on Paris, Texas in 1984, and they spoke very fondly of each other during the Q&A. They collaborated on the story over a period of years and have looked for a chance to work together again. I wish they would have produced something better.

Interesting Tidbit from the Q&A: Sheppard's son Jesse is an expert horseman and did his father's riding stunts for the movie. Sam Sheppard also rides well, but his contract limited his riding to a trot.

Second Interesting Tidbit: Wenders has wanted to shoot a film in Butte for twenty years, since his first visit there, and was concerned that someone else would film there before him.

Just Like Jesse James

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 9 January 2008]

While filming "The Phanton of the Desert" in the middle of nowhere in Moab, Utah City, the washed-out veteran actor Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) has an existential crisis and leaves the location riding a horse. Howard was a famous cowboy in western movies in the past, but is decadent due to his reckless and explosive behavior, abusive use of booze and drugs and scandalous affairs with many women. Howard gets some money, destroys his credit cards, rents a car and takes a bus later to Elko, his hometown in Nevada. He meets his mother, who tells him that he has a son. He drives to Butte, Montana, where he finds the former waitress Doreen (Jessica Lange), her son Earl (Gabriel Mann), the mysterious Sky (Sarah Polley) with the ghosts he left behind and the life that he could have had. Meanwhile, the production calls the insurance company that sends the investigator Sutter (Tim Roth) to chase him.

"Don't Come Knocking" is an original and sad story about existential and identity crisis of a man that reaches the third age with his career and personal life in a complete mess, totally disconnected from family and friends and maybe missing a different lifestyle with a family of his own. He decides to meet his past, but always chased by his troubled present with younger women and alcohol. The direction of Wim Wenders is effective as usual, supported by engaging story, screenplay and dialogs in partnership with the lead actor Sam Shepard. The acting is top-notch, and the locations especially in the beginning and in the casino have magnificent cinematography. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Estrela Solitária" ("Lonely Star")

Road movie

[alewar · 6/10 · 10 June 2005]

This movie is a little long, or perhaps a little boring, or perhaps both. It's a typical American road movie, about a western's actor who suddenly gets bored of "living la vida loca" and start chasing what's left of his family. The acting of the main character (Howard) is good, and the photography/camera was very well done. The movie lacks of reality in several parts, and the acting/scenes of Sky (Howard's daughter) are really really bad, so bad that it completely ruins the atmosphere, and you start thinking: WTF? in the middle of the movie.

This is not the best of Wim Wenders, and I think it isn't worth the price of ticket, it is more a movie to see while being sick or during a Winter night in an antarctic base. I think Wim should return to Germany if he wants to start doing good films again.

Shepard and Wenders on a Higher Plain

[joy_division1 · 10/10 · 22 March 2006]

I think to gain a full appreciation of Don't Come Knocking, it will help to be familiar with the work of Pulitzer and multiple Obie winning Sam Shepard, who contributes the screenplay for this movie. I've read reviews all over the internet complaining that the film lacks in terms of realism, but this complaint seems ill-conceived if aimed at Shepard, who has generally operated artistically by exploring mythical tableaux, as in plays The Horse Dreamer, Fool for Love, etc. It serves to recall that Paris, Texas, explored an ideal of the mythical West, in which main characters wonder the desert, chain their wife to a boiler before lighting the trailer on fire, (ie don't always act rationally).

Having arrived with the caveat that this film is a fable, not a traditional American here's the main conflict, here's the resolution Hollywood special, Don't Come Knocking is really an amazing example of film as art, something attempted all too rarely. Shepard also stars in the film as Howard Spence, an actor known for roles in Westerns. It is this idea of the man as a Cowboy, constantly wandering, living hard, unattached, that has become Howard so completely that he loses all bearings and feels he must escape from his movie set and find something.

Contacting his mother, whom he has not seen in some 30 years, he begins to see himself through her eyes, as someone who appears regularly in tabloids for a myriad of irresponsible behaviors, someone who uses others and is completely unconnected to anyone. His mother informs him that he has a child by a woman in Wyoming, and ducking the law and a film insurance exec (played brilliantly by Tim Roth), Howard sets off to find his child. In the world of Shepard, the father/son relationship often centers on abandonment, and is often central to the conflicts in his stories. So it is in DCK, in which an outraged son rampages through his small town, wrestling with his own origins, and upsetting his mother (played with predictable brilliance by Jessica Lange).

The beautiful cinematography and precise dialog are truly built for each other, and this movie continues to realize Wender's vision of the open American West. If the story lines seem implausible, try to look just beneath the surface at what is going on. Shepard discovers he has two children, the other a young woman named Skye, who has come to Butte to spread her mother's ashes. Skye embodies the female voice, a rarity in the work of Shepard. Skye is centered and desires a relationship. She asks her both her half-brother Earl as well as Howard, "Do you want to be related?" This story is about discovering the desire for human relationship and family, a necessity for buttressing against the harsh realities (broken boxcars, junked autos litter the landscape) of the West as well as the preposterous unrealities propagated by Hollywood myths of perfect love and sunset happiness.

In an interview Shepard once said that it is the "aloneness" that fascinates him about human relationships, as explored in "A Fool For Love", where estranged lovers meet again to love, fight violently, and leave again. In Don't Come Knocking, Shepard seems to leave us with more hope of overcoming our own contradictory natures to create relationships with those we love.

The film offers great appeal in its images, of mirror disco casinos, open road, and its costumes. The western costume, the waitress (Lange as even-tempered caretaker to the coffee-drinking old men and internet surfing youths alike), the businessman (Tim Roth in his Porsche Cayenne, insisting that the outside world not be let in), the modern cowboy (Howard throws away his credit cards and cell-phone, but keeps his sunglasses, which allow him to maintain his distance from all real relationships).

Go see this movie, laugh at the ridiculous nature of some scenes; the humor is intentional (as when exercise bike riders watch Earl's mother's conflicted confrontation with Howard) and very funny. The film is not perfect but is layered and complex, presenting deep conflicts such as the feminine versus the masculine will, the authentic America versus the Hollywood version, the destructive nature of art and creation, etc. Don't Come Knocking is rich and richly achieved, and if you approach it with an open mind, I think you'll enjoy it. I really did.

A disappointing reunion

[PaulLondon · 6/10 · 10 December 2006]

As a certified fan of Wenders' and Shepard's Paris Texas this was one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year for me. The story itself has much promise as a deconstruction of the mythological West and an exploration of the male psyche, but, it ultimately lacks the killer punch and heart and soul that one would expect. Its hard to say where the problem lies; the film comes with great writer, sporadically genius director and a sterling cast. But it is also tethered with an ill-judged comic turn from Roth than is neither amusing or interesting, the script is quirky rather than heartfelt and the direction is far from classic Wenders. A couple of scenes hints at what might have been and the southern Utah scenery stuns, but ultimately the film disappoints and just made me want to return to the wonderful Paris Texas

A joy to watch!

[Ricardo-16 · 9/10 · 4 October 2005]

"Don't Come Knocking" is undoubtedly the best fiction film made by Wim Wenders since "Wings of Desire". Wenders joins forces with playwright/actor Sam Shepard and the result is a wonderful journey, in Wenders' best style, of a man who flees his life to search for himself. Howard is an over-the-hill western movie star who's had his share of sex, booze and arrests in the past. He never settled down and prefers the lush life. Until, one day, he decides to flee a movie set, apparently for no reason apart from an existential crisis. He searches for anonymity in his small home town, visiting his mother for the first time in 30 years and discovers he might have had a child with one of his on-the-road conquests. This realization sends the middle-aged man on a search which confronts him with his own past, the way he has lived his life and what he could have done with it, had he decided to live it another way. But don't expect a morality tale: Wenders and Shepard are too intelligent for that. True to his instincts, Howard will persist in his erratic behavior till the very end. In short, in an age of comic book movies, "Don't Come Knocking" holds you onto your seat with a story that lets us breathe a bit of humanity. Wonderful performances, with kudos to Jessica Lange, maybe in her best performance ever. And we still get a homage to John Ford with images of Monument Valley and the large expenses of the West. Truly, a gem of a movie!

Ponderous but worth a look

[peter-ramshaw-1 · 7/10 · 23 May 2008]

I think you gotta like Win Wnders films to enjoy this. I do and so thought it was okay ... hey, so it's no Paris Texas, that's a given but the style of the film is still pretty unique. Unfortunately I thought the characters were very thinly developed (apert from Jessica Lang's which was impressive) and hence the tension that could have been a major part of the film wasn't there. The rest are an unlikeable bunch (or unknowable). After I got over asking myself how the kid threw that lounge suite out the tiny window and then seeing that somehow the window had magically gotten bigger to try to hide that goof, I didn't mind the odd continuity flaw here and there. Unfortunately for Sam Shppard and Win Wenders, all their stuff is going to be compared to Paris and that's a tough ask. This was a pale imitation but easy enough to sit through if a bit slow in patches.

unreal

[inniscarina · 4/10 · 29 January 2006]

I just saw this movie two nights ago for Sundance. I had no idea what I was going into before the show started- and I was pleasantly surprised by the opening shots of the beautiful Utah landscape. But then the story began. Others have said it well- the dialogue is bad, the acting is tepid, and the storyline is worn. But, in my opinion, the most difficult thing to overlook is the complete detachment from reality that this movie operates with. Are we supposed to believe that people really act this way? For example: would people really react to their reunion with their long lost father with over-the-top anger? Or with complete placidity? Every interaction between characters in this movie is unreal, which is too bad because this was a decent set of actors who could have done better if given a better story.

Please Come in...

[mcshortfilm · 9/10 · 9 April 2006]

Wim Wenders has done it again. The authentic German American filmmaker has recaptured the nostalgia of the American West influenced by photographer Robert Frank and feeding off plot themes by his contemporary, Jim Jarmusch. But much like all of Wenders films, his plots are not the central focus. He is interested in details, symbolism, existentialism and the process of creation. What I always liked about Wenders was his taste in music. I always hear something new that I get very interested in. Don't Come Knocking has a wonderful score.The Buena Vista Social Club is an obvious example, but there is also the music of Madredeus in Lisbon Story or the Stewart Copeland country score in "Kings of the Road'. speaking of "Kings of the Road", there is an interesting detail that is repeated in this film: At the end of Kings, there is a cinema with a broken neon sign that only has two letters lit "WW" which is the signature of Wim Wenders. This film, has a bar called the "M&M". which is the same only upside down. The story of this film by the way is co-written by Sam Shepard who collaborated with Wenders on "Paris Texas" . This time, he also stars in the film as a cowboy movie star on the search for his ex and his son who he never met. The landscapes reflect the ghostliness of an Edward Hopper painting. Few people exist in the town where he shows up. There are beautiful shots that are very memorable such as the view from the health club looking out the window where Shepard and Jessica Lange are fighting. Another great scene involves a trade in identity where a guy on a horse gets pulled over by a cop and ....well you'll see. Alhough this film symbolizes the transition to reality, it looks as though reality does not appear to be as real as one expects. This is a refreshing film by one of the great filmmakers of our time.

Caught between Earth and Sky

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 10 March 2014]

RELEASED IN 2005 and directed by Wim Wenders, "Don't Come Knocking" tells the story of a 60 year-old B-Western film has-been, Howard Spence (Sam Shepard), who is sick of his meaningless scandalous carnal existence. While on a film set in Utah he jumps ship and flees on a horse, searching for SOMETHING, like a reason to exist. He ultimately travels to Butte, Montana, where he gets reacquainted with an ex-girlfriend (Jessica Lange) and meets an angry young musician (Gabriel Mann) as well as a mysterious spiritual woman (Sarah Polley). Meanwhile the film company sends an eccentric bounty hunter (Tim Roth) to fetch Shepard for breach of contract.

Although this is generally a quiet drama, it has a hip and likable artistic flair. The film is highlighted by magnificent Western locations and a nice modern Country/Western/Rockish score/soundtrack (non-twangy).

We can all relate to Howard's search on some level; hence, despite the film's slow drama it generally maintains the viewer's attention throughout its runtime, unless you strictly favor fast-paced, quick-edited explosion-every-five-minutes thrillers.

The two youths Howard meets in the story, Earl and Sky, represent two extremes. Earl's name is fitting because he's full of volcanic rage that spits out from deep within the Earth (Earl/Earth, get it?). Sky, on the other hand, is completely spiritual in nature (hence, sky/heaven). She's full of warmth, love, compassion and forgiveness. In fact, she's the crucial Christ figure without which there would be little reconciliation for anyone in the story.

Take note of the scene where Sky meets Howard in his hotel room. Sky just looks at him with the understanding eyes of divine love. This naturally makes Spence uncomfortable; he's never experienced this before. He doesn't know what to do, so he asks her to leave.

On a side note, Jessica Lange still looks good for being in her mid-50s but I found her character strange and annoying. Also, Earl's girlfriend (Fairuza Balk) is an entertaining free spirit who looks like she might be the daughter of Steven Tyler.

The third act of "Don't Come Knocking" is too low-key for my tastes, but the movie's worthwhile if you favor the cast and have a taste for eccentric indie dramas, as well as stories about the modern West with echoes to the past.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 51 minutes and was shot in Butte; Arches National Park and Moab, Utah; Elko and Wendover, Nevada; and Los Angeles. WRITERS: Sam Shepherd and Wim Wenders.

GRADE: B-

3 1/2 years in the writing!!!! Huh!!!!!

[bobm5508 · 3/10 · 23 August 2006]

I should start by saying I have a great admiration for all the cast and the filmmaker involved in this movie. The movie looks great, with beautiful shots of the American West. But they have completely lost sight of what makes characters, or a movie in general, interesting. The main character is flat out unlikable. And while unlikable characters are fine, not at the center of a movie that requires us to have some reaction to him. Slow, laconic, mannered and dull as a stump performance by Sam Shepard undermines all the dull scenes he wrote. The waiting for his son on the tossed sofa scene, and if you saw the movie, forgive me for bringing it up -- was flat-out torturous! And the "side potatoes" conversation at the restaurant -- what?? There are great actors on board here and the dialog is frightful. Tim Roth, among others, is completely wasted. I will say that two "speeches" about the feelings of "parentless" children are very heartfelt and well done, but too little, too late. Kudos to Eva Marie Saint, who hasn't lost her appeal, and to Jessica Lange for a touching performance (and doesn't 55 look great!!).

Overall, nothing new story told in a painfully, nothing new way.

A Sequel that Shines but Disappoints

[sslevine · 8 December 2005]

Twenty years after "Paris, Texas", Sam Shepard returns with a sequel. Again, a family affair, our hero is searching for his roots in little towns and deserted landscapes.

The production shines from multiple angles. A superb set of actors, and Shepard's own fine performance as Howard -– a Westerns' actor of faded glory -- is almost eclipsed by (his life partner) Jessica Lange as the estranged mother of his son, Gabriel Mann as Earl, the son, and Eva Marie Saint as his stately mother. Comical roles by Tim Roth as the taciturn Sutter, a bounty hunter, and Fairuza Balk as the hilarious Amber, Earl's girlfriend, save the film from turning overly melodramatic.

In addition to the cast, Franz Lustig's cinematography is precisely lit and fluctuates between extremely realistic point-of-view shots with nausea-evoking 360-degree turns and time compression shots. The soundtrack is beautiful and includes some original pieces, and the costume design shines as well (although few people would wear those flamboyantly elegant outfits in Montana).

Despite all of its artistic achievements – acting, cinematography, score, and design – Don't Come Knocking suffers from a weak story line. A tired cliché about the man who've seen it all, had it all, but was never completely happy, and thus he abandons everything in search of the mother he hasn't seen in 30 years, and later his old lover and unknown off-springs. In the end, of course, they are all good, forgiving buddies. Don't Come Knocking is Hollywood sugarcoated at heart, but comes with generous helping of superb cinema, Wenders's signature forte.

Depressing Film

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 9 July 2008]

This film starts out with Howard Spence, (Sam Shepard) who walks off the set of a Western he was starring in and no one can seem to find him which will cause a great deal of problems for the director and producer. Howard decides to visit his mother after not seeing her for 30 years, Eva Marie Saint plays the role as his mom and gave an outstanding performance. After visiting with his mother she tells Howard that he had a son from a women who came looking for him years ago and this puts an idea in Howard's head to visit the town where she lives. Howard seems to go around in circles with a young girl who follows him everywhere he goes and she carries an urn with her mother's ashes. There is one scene where Howard just sits on a couch which has been thrown out in the street for almost 24 hours while the camera views him for a long long time. The reason this film is depressing is the fact that Howard has abandoned his son and wife and he has to face his past sins and mistakes. The moral of this story is simply, "What you Reap, You Sow". Strange film, but down to earth.

A movie like a big and heavy country ballad

[KaiOlaf · 7/10 · 17 June 2021]

This film is like a big and heavy country ballad - melancholic, atmospheric and sometimes a bit exaggerated and weird. This mixture makes this movie very charming. Maybe it would be even better if it was a little shorter and on point.

typical Wenders: amazing landscapes, great soundtrack and emotional story

[cowgrljunkie · 9/10 · 5 September 2005]

119 minutes – that's a relatively long runtime for a movie. But that doesn't have to mean it'll be boring. The sparse dialog in this movie isn't really what it's all about anyway. It's all about the emotions and the amazing pictures.

Sam Shepard portrays his role so wonderfully that you can sense his frustration with his life and his search for some meaning and his longing to change his ways.

Eva Marie Saint is equally adept at her portrayal of the old western actor's mom.

Jessica Lange, though, is truly outstanding. She steals the movie with one scene in particular and really deserves an award for her work in this film.

At the end of the day: this is Wim Wenders as we know him and as we like him best.

High Plains shiftless

[jake87 · 6/10 · 29 September 2006]

* Spoilers *

Sam Shepard won't be collecting any Pulitzers for the often tired, stagy script of Don't Come Knocking, but he has written a part that he can play and this movie offers some other satisfactions. It's a work that is better as a concept than on screen, but if you can accept the loping pace it delivers an unexpectedly graceful ending.

While all roles except Shepard's Howard Spence are underwritten, some strong supporting players, notably Eva Marie Saint and Sarah Polley, are able to make more of them than what's on Shepard's pages.

Sharing the playwright's sensibility, Wim Wenders isn't the ideal director to keep him focused. But Wenders' strong visuals add grace notes and depth to the otherwise meandering story. Fans of their long-ago collaboration on Paris, Texas, may be especially interested to see this follow-up, although it is well-described by another viewer as a bookend rather than a sequel. Then again, as comments here illustrate, this movie suffers by comparison with its ancestor.

If this is a tale of missed opportunities, the same can be said of the writing. Yes, Shepard is known for his presentations of Western myths, sometimes in sharp counterpoint to realistic settings and sometimes in fantastic or incoherent contrast. This script uneasily tries realism and whimsy simultaneously, which might work better in the immediacy of a theater than in a Montana thoroughfare.

As detailed elsewhere, aging bad-boy actor Howard Spence (Shepard)hoofs it from the Utah shoot of his latest horse-opera, feeling a need after 30 years to reconnect with his roots without telling his employers.

By beginning on a movie location and taking off on an antic trail, Shepard seems to be setting up an examination of movie myths of the West and their effects on actors and viewers. But he soon jettisons this for a visit to Spence's mother (Eva Marie Saint), and a cat-and-mouse game with Tim Roth as a pursuing agent from the movie company's bondholder.

In her 80s, Saint gives a sly, low-key performance and remains amazingly lovely and spry. Sam Shepard has always been one of those men who look better from across the room than close up, and after decades of hard traveling he seems distressingly more like Saint's husband than her son. But Mom's scrapbook of tabloid articles about her bad-boy son's misadventures in Hollywood is an artful way to fill in Howard's back story. Then, the script simply has him repeat the same type of antics. OK, we get it.

But Howard is surprised to learn he has a son, fathered on a long-ago movie shoot in Butte, and he's again quickly on the road again. More-or-less playing the Wile E. Coyote role, Roth might be said to have wandered in from another movie. But since this is a Wim Wenders film, his eccentric, closed-up character is right at home. He's an alternative version of Howard, equally a loner, but without the wild, irresponsible side that clearly helped Spence's actorly appeal to female fans. Shepard can hardly go anywhere without starting an altercation, but even when he's in a hash-house Roth is mainly interested in defining types of potatoes.

Meanwhile, a young woman named Sky is headed in the same direction, transporting the ashes of her mother. Shepard usually deals in violent, self-destructive male stereotypes like Spence, but here essays a female one, a surreally mild, well-adjusted earth mother. Only an actress as subtle and natural as Sarah Polley could cope with the sentimental claptrap of carrying around and talking to her mother's urn.

Still, Sky's unruffled calm makes a welcome respite from the angry contacts between Howard and his 20-something son Earl, played by Gabriel Mann. A hedonistic, hot-headed musician, Earl of course reminds Spence of his younger self. Unfortunately, while he's somewhat talented musically, Mann isn't a good enough actor to add depth to this one-note part. The talented Fairuza Balk is wasted as his girlfriend, giving little to do beyond looking funky (and suffering from a Hollywood diet, since if Balk gets any skinnier she'll be transparent).

Of course, the main attraction of this part of the movie is supposed to be Spence's reunion with his long-ago lover, played by Shepard's real-life amour Jessica Lange. There's a certain poignancy in the realization that an old photo of Howard and Doreen is the two actors. But Lange's performance is erratic. She can't decide whether to play a real person or play off that Hollywood subtext. That's even true in her big scene, where she runs a gamut of emotions when Doreen finally tells Spence that he's never gotten a life and he's not going to co-opt hers. All this plays like the necessary third-act blow-up before a resolution can be reached. It's not mythic, it's just crafted.

But the resolution does come, and as noted, it's surprisingly satisfying, well-directed, and within the context, upbeat. Howard Spence can't really change, but his children can. This isn't a movie for everyone, and I share some of the disappointment of other reviewers. But if like Shepard and/or Wenders, you might find it worthwhile.

Another great movie of Wim Wenders - if you like his style.

[ImDb-9174 · 10/10 · 28 August 2005]

Wim Wenders and Sam Shepard let you walk in the boots of a guy who's stepping out of his pitiful daily life to face the past and find out how this can be both hard and rewarding. Wender's beautiful slow moving style to unfold the story lets you follow and feel what's going on within the "hero" and the people he encounters. The marvelous scenery of the West is shot to remind you of some scenes of "Thelma and Louise". The music blends in wonderfully. The interactions are almost every time worked out in every detail and dialogs sound so real you can imagine this to happen in your neighborhood. Last not least all of it is played by an outstanding group of actors making it very hard to decide who'd be your favorite which adds to complete the reason why this movie is excellent to me.

Funny scenes, laughter and deep emotions - if you're a lover of fast-food (movies) - don't go. You'd probably find it boring.

Bringing back the old indie ensemble quirk

[oneloveall · 6/10 · 3 August 2006]

Charming (kindamello)drama set amidst a generously photographed American West does not break any new ground with it's tried and true theme of the washed out man who drifts back into his murky past after running away from an unfulfilled present, but does manage to keep you involved throughout with it's sensitively casted ensemble. Sam Shepard re-teams with the esteemed Wim Wenders back to familiar territory, this time taking the lead role himself as the has-been actor who discovers his latent domesticity all too late in the game. What is an accommodating lead performance is nearly overshadowed by the excited supporting cast. From Jessica Lange's unique twist on her emotions, to Tim Roth's organized, comical directness, to the attention grabbing performance of relatively unknown Gabriel Mann, this is a film that is enjoyed best by ensemble indie lovers. The laid back direction and the generic character trappings do bare down at times... with no expectations though, this just might be the low-key drama to balance out entertaining stereotypes, real life drama, and artful production in an easy to swallow but touching choice at this week's coming rental session.

I'm Knocking: Don't Come Knocking

[winklma2 · 1/10 · 8 October 2006]

Despite having at least three well known actors and one known screenwriter and a Director who had a reputation, this is one of the worst movies I have seen in recent memory. What passes for a plot passes painfully slowly for almost 2 hours with dialog like, "What is the difference between Home fries, hash browns and redskin potatoes?" followed by a five minute explanation by Jessica Lange as the waitress. Did the same person who wrote "True West" write this drivel? Fortunately there are scenes of western beauty or I would have turned off the DVD after one hour of this hopelessly boring, depressing tale of an actor who must bear resemblance to the real one portrayed on the screen.

A Wonderful Gem of a Find

[kalibeans · 9/10 · 12 October 2015]

Another brilliant story, beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, fantastic soundtrack of a film that totally escaped my radar out here in the suburbs until tonight, thanks to some meandering on IMDb, I came across it. Thank you Sam Shepard for a wonderfully told story driven film. Thank you Wim Wenders for making it. And thanks to all the rest of the cast and crew who were a part of it. When I look at the gross for this movie, and the gross for this summers biggest "blockbuster", it saddens me. Don't be afraid to expand your horizons a bit American movie going public. You will be amazed at what all you have missed if you stick merely to the current big movie. Last but never, ever least thanks to T Bone Burnett for another amazing soundtrack. A wonderful evening for this movie lover.

a lot of similarities with Broken Flowers

[dragokin · 6/10 · 23 March 2013]

Isn't is strange that two art-house movies come out at approximately the same time, made by directors who never craved mainstream fame and share significant similarities in plot? Well, this was exactly the case with Don't Come Knocking and Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmush. Both movies are about a man looking for a child he's never heard of before.

Then they diverge and we follow Sam Shepard's character, a mid-aged wannabe cowboy wasting his life away. In a slow pace he unravels the mysteries of his past and find more than he hoped for.

Don't Come Knocking is slow, but in this case it adds to the realism of the movie. And you get what you'd expect from Wim Wenders...

mediocre and forgettable in spite of the talent pooled

[kassaar · 5/10 · 29 October 2005]

Main story premise is never developed in an interesting way. Main character Howard's motivation to leave B-movie and see his mother all of a sudden remains a mystery throughout the picture, as does virtually all of his behavior. This quickly becomes tedious to watch. The search for him by Mr Sutter never gives the story any tension, does not engage the audience, and only serves to give the picture an ending. The Sutter character is not fleshed out and his comic moments (as when ordering in the diner) fall flat and seem out of place. Dialogue overall is tepid, never sparkles, not a single line can be remembered. Two speeches stand out a little: Doreen's (finally) giving Howard the lowdown on his behavior and Sky's speech at the very end, but it is all too little. Ending (Howard back to his B-picture and his kids happily singing in his car) suggests some sort of resolution but does not fit to what went before at all and consequently feels tacked on. Wender's love for Americana results in some beautiful shots of scenery but this has been done before and after all this is not a documentary. Best performance is by Lange, weakest by Mann, but he is given the most common-place dialog and behavior of all characters. I pity in particular the actress who played Earl's girlfriend: she was given such a cliché character (air-headed groupie) and yet she makes the best of it and is the only one to exude any warmth. This film really disappointed me in light of all the talent involved.