This movie has tremendous potential to become a cult classic. I have seen in three times now and each time I appreciate it more. There is no plot to speak of - just the ramifications of James Gandolfini's character, Nick Murder, having an affair with Irish Red-head Tula, played to perfection by Kate Winslet. Susan Sarandon is brilliant as Kitty Murder, the angry wife, who feels forgotten and misused. The lack of plot does not hurt the film, because it is more of a study of real life than anything else. While there are sub-plots involving both Gandolfini's and Sarandon's characters - that's pretty much it. The coolest thing about this film however is that it is a musical - not a typical musical mind you - but a musical none the less. What happens is that a song will be playing sort of like background music in any other film - and then the characters on screen will start singing along with it.
So no, there is no lip syncing. They are singing along - and yes you can hear all of them. There is one exception to this seeing as Kate Winslet's second song is performed underwater - which is a beautiful sequence! It really feels like the every-man's musical. Garbagemen dancing and singing in the opening number while the neighborhood joins in. Every number is a show-stopper - with fully actualized choreography like any movie musical. Really the only difference is that you can hear the original artist's in the background. Which I know sounds strange - but when you put it in the context of this working man's life. It makes so much sense. People do sing along to songs on the radio - and dance around. It's genius in away. I think John Turturro may have created a whole new genre.
The original singers in the background however can sometimes be problematic. On Susan Sarandon's first song you can only hear her maybe half of the time. But yes she is singing - and yes it is her voice. Susan has proved her singing talents in at least 3 or 4 films besides this one. She is not dubbed. On her second number however, you can hear her fine - and it is beautiful.
There are many nice quirks to this film, like the fact that during Sarandon's second number, "Prisoner of Love" sung by Cyndi Lauper - Cyndi's husband, David Thornton, has a part on screen as the urologist that Gandolfini's character sees. He even sings along with his wife on a line or two. It is quite an effective scene. And Sarandon and Lauper's voices blend surprisingly well. Sarandon can still hit the high notes like back in her Rocky Horror days! It is really wonderful.
All in all, this film definitely needs to get an American release. It has some truly hilarious moments - that you will be laughing about for days! But it also has heart! And of course it is very quirky - judging by it's rating not a lot of people truly get this film. But there are audiences for films that are very unique like this one. As I said before, like Sarandon's first musical, Rocky Horror - this film has cult classic written all over it. So, hopefully 2007 will be the year. If not, buy a region free DVD player and import it from one of the numerous countries that it has been released in besides America. Oh well. Hollywood. What can you do?
So no, there is no lip syncing. They are singing along - and yes you can hear all of them. There is one exception to this seeing as Kate Winslet's second song is performed underwater - which is a beautiful sequence! It really feels like the every-man's musical. Garbagemen dancing and singing in the opening number while the neighborhood joins in. Every number is a show-stopper - with fully actualized choreography like any movie musical. Really the only difference is that you can hear the original artist's in the background. Which I know sounds strange - but when you put it in the context of this working man's life. It makes so much sense. People do sing along to songs on the radio - and dance around. It's genius in away. I think John Turturro may have created a whole new genre.
The original singers in the background however can sometimes be problematic. On Susan Sarandon's first song you can only hear her maybe half of the time. But yes she is singing - and yes it is her voice. Susan has proved her singing talents in at least 3 or 4 films besides this one. She is not dubbed. On her second number however, you can hear her fine - and it is beautiful.
There are many nice quirks to this film, like the fact that during Sarandon's second number, "Prisoner of Love" sung by Cyndi Lauper - Cyndi's husband, David Thornton, has a part on screen as the urologist that Gandolfini's character sees. He even sings along with his wife on a line or two. It is quite an effective scene. And Sarandon and Lauper's voices blend surprisingly well. Sarandon can still hit the high notes like back in her Rocky Horror days! It is really wonderful.
All in all, this film definitely needs to get an American release. It has some truly hilarious moments - that you will be laughing about for days! But it also has heart! And of course it is very quirky - judging by it's rating not a lot of people truly get this film. But there are audiences for films that are very unique like this one. As I said before, like Sarandon's first musical, Rocky Horror - this film has cult classic written all over it. So, hopefully 2007 will be the year. If not, buy a region free DVD player and import it from one of the numerous countries that it has been released in besides America. Oh well. Hollywood. What can you do?
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