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Southland Tales is directed by Richard Kelly (Donnie
Darko), and stars Dwayne Johnson (The Game Plan), Seann
William Scott (Dude Where's My Car), and Sarah Michelle
Geller (The Grudge.) The musical score is composed by Moby.
***
Southland Tales is set in the future, following nuclear
disasters. Because of this, society now lives in a heavy-controlled
society, which keeps tabs on everyone. Amongst the characters
in the story are two lovers - a man who stars in action
films, and a woman who stars in a different kind of movie
(yes, THAT kind.) Numerous characters' fates become intertwined
as the story progresses. ***
Before I move on, something needs to be made clear
- it is IMPOSSIBLE to write a coherent plot summary for
this film, and the previous paragraph is about as good as
I can do without spoiling vital storyline elements. ***
The film is a mess. There are a lot of good ideas here,
not to mention big-name stars appearing in the project.
But the acting is below average, and all of the ideas collapse
on one another, leaving what could have been a future tale
worth your time as an unpolished hodgepodge of half-finished
stories that never really go anywhere. A two-hour plus run
time certainly doesn't help things. ***
This film is, inevitably, going to draw a lot of comparisons
to movies like 1984 and Blade Runner, with its futuristic
setting and thought-provoking undertones. And sadly the
final product here is a scattershot one that doesn't deserve
to be compared to those masterpieces. There are just too
many problems here to recommend the movie. Look elsewhere
for your dosage of futuristic society viewing. ---
Image And Sound:
The DVD image quality here is very good, and the only
areas in which is falters are those scenes that show the
fairly limited budget on which the movie was recorded. Otherwise
it looks fantastic. Audio fares well, with all dialogue,
sound effects, and Moby's excellent score coming across
clear and audible throughout the entire film.
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