Review of Southland Tales (2007) by James L — 14 Apr 2011

(NOTE: This is a review of the 160-minute Cannes Film Festival version, not the 145-minute theatrical cut.).

I give the man an A for effort, but Richard Kelly's intriguing interpretation of the Book of Revelation is an unfocused, unwieldy mess. Kelly is trying to say a hell of a lot here, and loads his dense screenplay with symbols and references galore, but it seems that the one thing he forgot to do was make it ENTERTAINING and compelling. As such, it's a film that you can stand back and sort-of admire, but it's really not one that you would spend a lot of time thinking about. Not having viewed the theatrical version in quite some time, I can't comment all that much on the differences between the two -- but this longer version struck me as being a little less 'busy' and a touch more coherent -- but no better or worse than the theatrical.