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Living in Oblivion
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // February 11, 2003
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A particularly enjoyable 1995 indie, "Living in Oblivion" remains the finest work I've seen from director Tom DiCillo ("The Real Blonde", "Double Whammy"). "Living" stars Steve Buscemi as Nick Reve, an independent director trying to make an "important" film and finding that just about everything that could go wrong in the production does.
The lead actress, Nicole (Catherine Keener) has anxiety about the film and her future. His lead actor, Chad Palomino (James LeGros) has an ego about two sizes too big for the set, while the cinematographer (Dermot Mulroney) clearly has his own ideas about the film's visual style - something that will likely be familiar to those who watched HBO's recent indie film reality series, "Project Greenlight", where the cinematographer seemed to be more interested in doing his own thing, including ruining a shot he didn't like.
So essentially, this is indie filmmaking the way that it can occasionally get: technical crew who don't have a clue, temper tantrums, furious disagreements, beeping that seems to come from no particular place and the occasional destruction of both props and equipment. The film moves between black-and-white and color and the personal and professional lifes of the actors. Although the back-and-forth between B & W and color could have been too artsy, the film alternates with good taste and smooth editing.
The performances clearly capture the kind of tone that DiCillo seems to be aiming for. Legros (who, reportedly, is supposed to be playing a parody of Brad Pitt, who starred in the director's first film, "Johnny Suede") clearly enjoys playing the egotistical actor and turns it into a hilarious portrayal. Keener is exceptional as the sensitive actress and supporting performances from Kevin Corrigan and Dermot Mulroney are terrific. The film's finest effort, however, is from Buscemi, who takes Nick from calm and collected to a full-blown breakdown.
Although it may not have as much impact with those who aren't familiar with film production, the performances should at least generate laughs for casual viewers. At 92 minutes, "Living" zips along and, if anything, the end credits roll too early.
The DVD
VIDEO: Presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, "Living in Oblivion" looks perfectly fine. Although this is certainly low-budget material, the picture retains a crisp and pleasingly well-defined appearance in both the black & white and color sequences.
Flaws are fairly minimal, and there's really nothing that I found too bothersome. A few very light specks appear on the print used, while some very minimal grain appears on occasion. On a positive note, no compression artifacts or edge enhancement becomes visible.
B & W scenes appeared rich and bold, while the colors in the color sequences looked natural and clean, with no smearing. This is a very enjoyable transfer, and fine work from the studio.
SOUND: The film's mono soundtrack offers dialogue and the film's score fairly well. Although it's fairly rare to see a mono soundtrack, it works for this film's "documentary" feel.
EXTRAS: The DVD's main supplement is an audio commentary from director Tom DiCillo. This is a very enjoyable discussion from the director, who talks about how "Living in Oblivion" really came out of the tremendous difficulities that he faced with his first film, "Johnny Suede" and the hardships of independent cinema in general. We get to learn more about working with a crew that's essentially paid little or nothing, fundraising, casting and how some of the film's scenes are based upon the real-life experiences of the director. Both casual listeners and aspiring filmmakers should enjoy this track.
Also, we get trailers for "Auto Focus", "Love Liza" and "The Big Picture", along with a "Q & A" session with the director and actor Steve Buscemi.
Final Thoughts: A very, very funny look at the realities of indie filmmaking, "Living in Oblivion" is witty, smart and offers terrific performances from all the leads. I've seen it several times now and really holds up to multiple viewings quite wonderfully. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition thankfully isn't a movie-only release (which they could have done) and really, is a nice little edition, with fine supplements and good audio/video quality. Recommended.
A particularly enjoyable 1995 indie, "Living in Oblivion" remains the finest work I've seen from director Tom DiCillo ("The Real Blonde", "Double Whammy"). "Living" stars Steve Buscemi as Nick Reve, an independent director trying to make an "important" film and finding that just about everything that could go wrong in the production does.
The lead actress, Nicole (Catherine Keener) has anxiety about the film and her future. His lead actor, Chad Palomino (James LeGros) has an ego about two sizes too big for the set, while the cinematographer (Dermot Mulroney) clearly has his own ideas about the film's visual style - something that will likely be familiar to those who watched HBO's recent indie film reality series, "Project Greenlight", where the cinematographer seemed to be more interested in doing his own thing, including ruining a shot he didn't like.
So essentially, this is indie filmmaking the way that it can occasionally get: technical crew who don't have a clue, temper tantrums, furious disagreements, beeping that seems to come from no particular place and the occasional destruction of both props and equipment. The film moves between black-and-white and color and the personal and professional lifes of the actors. Although the back-and-forth between B & W and color could have been too artsy, the film alternates with good taste and smooth editing.
The performances clearly capture the kind of tone that DiCillo seems to be aiming for. Legros (who, reportedly, is supposed to be playing a parody of Brad Pitt, who starred in the director's first film, "Johnny Suede") clearly enjoys playing the egotistical actor and turns it into a hilarious portrayal. Keener is exceptional as the sensitive actress and supporting performances from Kevin Corrigan and Dermot Mulroney are terrific. The film's finest effort, however, is from Buscemi, who takes Nick from calm and collected to a full-blown breakdown.
Although it may not have as much impact with those who aren't familiar with film production, the performances should at least generate laughs for casual viewers. At 92 minutes, "Living" zips along and, if anything, the end credits roll too early.
The DVD
VIDEO: Presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, "Living in Oblivion" looks perfectly fine. Although this is certainly low-budget material, the picture retains a crisp and pleasingly well-defined appearance in both the black & white and color sequences.
Flaws are fairly minimal, and there's really nothing that I found too bothersome. A few very light specks appear on the print used, while some very minimal grain appears on occasion. On a positive note, no compression artifacts or edge enhancement becomes visible.
B & W scenes appeared rich and bold, while the colors in the color sequences looked natural and clean, with no smearing. This is a very enjoyable transfer, and fine work from the studio.
SOUND: The film's mono soundtrack offers dialogue and the film's score fairly well. Although it's fairly rare to see a mono soundtrack, it works for this film's "documentary" feel.
EXTRAS: The DVD's main supplement is an audio commentary from director Tom DiCillo. This is a very enjoyable discussion from the director, who talks about how "Living in Oblivion" really came out of the tremendous difficulities that he faced with his first film, "Johnny Suede" and the hardships of independent cinema in general. We get to learn more about working with a crew that's essentially paid little or nothing, fundraising, casting and how some of the film's scenes are based upon the real-life experiences of the director. Both casual listeners and aspiring filmmakers should enjoy this track.
Also, we get trailers for "Auto Focus", "Love Liza" and "The Big Picture", along with a "Q & A" session with the director and actor Steve Buscemi.
Final Thoughts: A very, very funny look at the realities of indie filmmaking, "Living in Oblivion" is witty, smart and offers terrific performances from all the leads. I've seen it several times now and really holds up to multiple viewings quite wonderfully. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition thankfully isn't a movie-only release (which they could have done) and really, is a nice little edition, with fine supplements and good audio/video quality. Recommended.
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