Review of Some Velvet Morning (2013) by Nathan M — 29 Jun 2014

I've not seen many Neil LaBute films, but after about fifteen minutes of this film I began to see a lot of David Mamet in the writing. After some research I saw that LaBute is highly influenced by the master writer, and has written many plays himself. Some Velvet Morning feels like it would have worked better as a play. Lofty dialogue tends to work better on stage, because you tend to feel a little more aware of the fact you're watching fiction.

In Some Velvet Morning the dialogue starts off as interesting and ends as stilted and "trying too hard". Maybe that's because as the film progresses you learn less and less about the characters, so the monologues feel like "showing off". At first you're trying to figure everything out, and you appreciate that the dialogue doesn't just feel like exposition. As the film carries on, you just wish they would say what they meant.

Stanley Tucci and Alice Eve are both great in their roles. Tucci has this sadistic quality that begins to reveal itself more and more towards the end of the film, and Eve gives a mystifying performance. You're not sure why she doesn't just run from this guy, but, without really being able to put your finger on it, you understand from her performance. I've never been particularly impressed with her before, but after this film, I'd like to watch more.

Some Velvet Morning could have been better if there was more depth than is given here. With a strong opening, I really thought we were going to get more than we did, and I was interested in that movie. The film's last half made me not care as much. Perhaps a few more drafts of the script and a stronger director could have fixed some of these problems.