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Trouble in Mind is a VERY interesting movie, and self-consciously so. Somewhere between gratuitously-quirky and a flawed masterpiece, everything about this movie is just a little off.
And that is also its charm. An exotic casting choice results in a character that is more intriguing than convincing; Another character transforms, gradually, completely beyond recognition without comment. Alternate-Noir atmosphere in a different Pacific Northwest. An inventively-bizarre murder and my nomination for the funniest shoot-out in film history.
And lots of atmosphere. A moody Mark Isham soundtrack with an even moodier Marianne Faithfull partially channelling Billie Holiday. Rain and rain and more rain that does not appear to have required any equipment. And ending in a lingering, scenic shot that has nothing to do with the story but meshes exquisitely with the mood and music, and seems as if it was orchestrated by mother nature exclusively for the film crew. I can't tell whether the weather was incredibly cooperative, or if Alan Rudolph just knew exactly how and when to use it.
The overall effect is a unique but cohesive viewing experience that sticks with you long after the movie is over.
It strives, a little too pretentiously, to be quirky, but it is also beautifully humanist.
score 8/10
d-millhoff 24 January 2018
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4042228/ |
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1-12-2019 21:03:56