Review of Cold Souls (2009) by Mike M — 11 Apr 2010
Coming from an American comedy - even an American indie comedy, once the domain of such arch ironists as Hal Hartley - such a level of drollness, melancholy and unabashed anomie is unexpected and takes some getting used to.
.. "It's very Russian," is Flintstein's assessment of "Uncle Vanya", and the film, too, is possessed of a very Slavic disposition: anyone in search of belly laughs can look elsewhere, I'm afraid.
Still, I found "Cold Souls" oddly haunting and affecting, not to mention tailored to the gifts of its hangdog leading man, allowing him to play Paul Giamatti, Vanya and all stations in between flustered and grumpy.
His exasperation upon learning his soul is being used to motor one of Russia's leading soap operas is well worth the ticket price, if not quite selling your own soul for.
This review of Cold Souls (2009) was written by Mike M on 11 Apr 2010.
Cold Souls has generally received mixed reviews.
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