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Man From Elysian Fields, The
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // March 18, 2003
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A somber, well-acted drama/comedy from documentary director George Hickenlooper, "The Man From Elysian Fields" stars Andy Garcia as author Byron Tiller. His latest novel has found its way into the bargain bins, and his latest novel has found its way into the bargain bins, despite good reviews. Lately, he's found himself having problems with supporting his wife, Dena (Julianna Margulies) and their child. His editor has decided not to give him an advance for a future work.
One night, he's approached in a bar by Luther Fox (Mick Jagger). The two have a short conversation, and Luther suggests that he should come to work with him at Elysian Fields, which happens to be an escort service for wealthy women. His first client is Andrea Allcott (Olivia Williams), who happens to be the wife of famed novelist Tobias Allcott (James Coburn). The older author is ill, but still working, and approves of his wife's situation. While he provides companionship for Andrea, he starts to assist Tobias with his latest work. While his new career supporting both Allcotts is proceeding along, his home life is beginning to fall apart.
The film's key strengths are its screenplay and its performances. Garcia does a terrific job as the author desperate to provide for his family and stung by the lies he tells her to suggest his writing situation is better than it is. Julianna Margulies looks great and provides a superb performance, completely convincing as a supportive, loving wife through the best - and worst - of times. Jagger (who also produced last year's terrific "Enigma") is also slyly funny as Luther (and he provides narration perfectly). James Coburn is also marvelous in one of his final roles. Angelica Huston is also quite good in a small role and she has fine chemistry with Jagger.
The plot doesn't sound so elegant, but director George Hickenlooper ("Hearts of Darkness") and writer Phillip Jayson Lasker (uh, "The Golden Girls" TV show) do a fine job of providing an intelligent look at the issues within the story. There's not great depth in the way that all of the aspects of the plot are dealt with, but the performances add layers to the material. The cinematography, score, locations and production design also do create nice mood and atmosphere.
The film isn't without flaws, though. Some of the decisions made by the characters don't quite feel as if they have the impact they should or feel abrupt, for example. The scenes with Huston and Jagger are good, but the relationship between the two characters is underdeveloped. Some aspects of the film are predictable, as well; most will see where the film is going to be headed, which makes a bit of the second half feel rather slow.
Flaws aside, I found "The Man From Elysian Fields" to be an enjoyable drama with strong performances. A couple of hints of lightness and comedy nicely balance out the somber, subtle tone of the rest of the movie. Problematic at times, but good.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Man From Elysian Fields" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is, unfortunately, just average at best. Sharpness and detail are rather lackluster; the presentation offers decent definition and clarity at times, but often appears soft and somewhat hazy. Maybe this was the intended appearance, but it seemed too inconsistent to be.
Other issues became apparent throughout the film: some noticable print flaws shows up, including some mild specks and a few marks. Slight hints of grain were also present at times. Slight compression artifacts never became an issue, but a few slight instances of edge enhancement did in a couple of scenes. The film's subdued color palette, on the other hand, did seem well-rendered; while there was nothing noteworthy about it, there was nothing too notable about its appearance, either.
SOUND: Columbia/Tristar presents "Man From Elysian Fields" in Dolby Digital 5.0. The film's audio presentation is front-heavy aside from a few instances here and there. Surrounds are put to some slight use for ambience and reinforcement of the score, but otherwise, they remain silent. Audio quality is generally satisfactory; while the music remained crisp and rich, dialogue could occasionally sound slightly muffled and, during a few instances of yelling, rather harsh.
EXTRAS: The DVD's only main supplement is a commentary from director George Hickenlooper, actor Andy Garcia and writer Phillip Jayson Lasker. This is a very entertaining commentary, as the three offer a lot of good information about the characters and story and seem to having a great deal of fun watching the picture. Lasker seems to have a sharp, funny response for every discussion, while Garcia and Hickenlooper are insightful and have the same entertaining tone as they discuss.
Also: Other than the commentary, we get filmographies, three TV spots and trailers for "Man From Elysian Fields", "Enigma" (a fantastic film that deserves a better DVD than the release that came out last year, which offered terrible video quality) and "Punch-Drunk Love".
Final Thoughts: A very good movie with fine performances, only a few mild concerns keep "The Man From Elysian Fields" from being a better film. The story doesn't always work, but performances from all of the supporting and lead actors are quite good and certainly involving. Columbia/Tristar's DVD offers okay audio/video quality and a couple of good supplements. Definitely recommended as a rental.
A somber, well-acted drama/comedy from documentary director George Hickenlooper, "The Man From Elysian Fields" stars Andy Garcia as author Byron Tiller. His latest novel has found its way into the bargain bins, and his latest novel has found its way into the bargain bins, despite good reviews. Lately, he's found himself having problems with supporting his wife, Dena (Julianna Margulies) and their child. His editor has decided not to give him an advance for a future work.
One night, he's approached in a bar by Luther Fox (Mick Jagger). The two have a short conversation, and Luther suggests that he should come to work with him at Elysian Fields, which happens to be an escort service for wealthy women. His first client is Andrea Allcott (Olivia Williams), who happens to be the wife of famed novelist Tobias Allcott (James Coburn). The older author is ill, but still working, and approves of his wife's situation. While he provides companionship for Andrea, he starts to assist Tobias with his latest work. While his new career supporting both Allcotts is proceeding along, his home life is beginning to fall apart.
The film's key strengths are its screenplay and its performances. Garcia does a terrific job as the author desperate to provide for his family and stung by the lies he tells her to suggest his writing situation is better than it is. Julianna Margulies looks great and provides a superb performance, completely convincing as a supportive, loving wife through the best - and worst - of times. Jagger (who also produced last year's terrific "Enigma") is also slyly funny as Luther (and he provides narration perfectly). James Coburn is also marvelous in one of his final roles. Angelica Huston is also quite good in a small role and she has fine chemistry with Jagger.
The plot doesn't sound so elegant, but director George Hickenlooper ("Hearts of Darkness") and writer Phillip Jayson Lasker (uh, "The Golden Girls" TV show) do a fine job of providing an intelligent look at the issues within the story. There's not great depth in the way that all of the aspects of the plot are dealt with, but the performances add layers to the material. The cinematography, score, locations and production design also do create nice mood and atmosphere.
The film isn't without flaws, though. Some of the decisions made by the characters don't quite feel as if they have the impact they should or feel abrupt, for example. The scenes with Huston and Jagger are good, but the relationship between the two characters is underdeveloped. Some aspects of the film are predictable, as well; most will see where the film is going to be headed, which makes a bit of the second half feel rather slow.
Flaws aside, I found "The Man From Elysian Fields" to be an enjoyable drama with strong performances. A couple of hints of lightness and comedy nicely balance out the somber, subtle tone of the rest of the movie. Problematic at times, but good.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Man From Elysian Fields" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is, unfortunately, just average at best. Sharpness and detail are rather lackluster; the presentation offers decent definition and clarity at times, but often appears soft and somewhat hazy. Maybe this was the intended appearance, but it seemed too inconsistent to be.
Other issues became apparent throughout the film: some noticable print flaws shows up, including some mild specks and a few marks. Slight hints of grain were also present at times. Slight compression artifacts never became an issue, but a few slight instances of edge enhancement did in a couple of scenes. The film's subdued color palette, on the other hand, did seem well-rendered; while there was nothing noteworthy about it, there was nothing too notable about its appearance, either.
SOUND: Columbia/Tristar presents "Man From Elysian Fields" in Dolby Digital 5.0. The film's audio presentation is front-heavy aside from a few instances here and there. Surrounds are put to some slight use for ambience and reinforcement of the score, but otherwise, they remain silent. Audio quality is generally satisfactory; while the music remained crisp and rich, dialogue could occasionally sound slightly muffled and, during a few instances of yelling, rather harsh.
EXTRAS: The DVD's only main supplement is a commentary from director George Hickenlooper, actor Andy Garcia and writer Phillip Jayson Lasker. This is a very entertaining commentary, as the three offer a lot of good information about the characters and story and seem to having a great deal of fun watching the picture. Lasker seems to have a sharp, funny response for every discussion, while Garcia and Hickenlooper are insightful and have the same entertaining tone as they discuss.
Also: Other than the commentary, we get filmographies, three TV spots and trailers for "Man From Elysian Fields", "Enigma" (a fantastic film that deserves a better DVD than the release that came out last year, which offered terrible video quality) and "Punch-Drunk Love".
Final Thoughts: A very good movie with fine performances, only a few mild concerns keep "The Man From Elysian Fields" from being a better film. The story doesn't always work, but performances from all of the supporting and lead actors are quite good and certainly involving. Columbia/Tristar's DVD offers okay audio/video quality and a couple of good supplements. Definitely recommended as a rental.
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