Review of Southland Tales (2007) by Fraser M — 06 Jun 2011

Southland Tales is a messy film that portrays a rather messy time in Western pop-culture. Nuclear fears, government conspiracies, war guilt, millennial prophecies and ambitious filmstars all combine to capture something of the zeitgeist of the early twenty-first century. Richard Kelly is extremely ambitious in his attempt to combine the confusion of our civilization into a film that desperately strives to be opaque. But, what it may lack in consistency and transparency it makes up for by remaining unpredictable and, most importantly, fun. So what if it doesn't make sense, what about our current world does?

Discussing the plot is almost futile, after watching the film numerous times I still have very little idea what it's all really about. Needless to say, there is a doomsday element to the film that includes a science-fiction twist revolving around an attempt to find an alternate source of energy. Society is on the brink of self-destruction as a dystopic vision of our modern future implodes under the weight of its own corruption and the efforts of a terrorist cell called Deep Throat (an obvious shout-out to the Watergate conspiracy) to bring an oppressive regime down. Many of the film's central elements are eerily relevant in today's world, censorship of the internet, oil crisis, reality-tv pop culture etc... So, while Richard Kelly does not create an accessible account of our world, he nonetheless captures a relevant slice of life.

The casting is brilliant with some unexpected stand-out performances by Justin Timberlake and Dwayne Johnson. Sarah Michelle-Geller plays an excellent ex-porn star akin to Paris Hilton and Jon Lovitz makes for a surprisingly twisted corrupt cop.

Surprisingly, audiences seemed perplexed and angry at this film, scathing it for it's nonsensical and unconventional approach. But what else should we expect from Richard Kelly, a writer and director with a unique vision and a brand of science-fiction that is so utterly polarizing. Hats off to the man for doing something different, for revealing our messed up society to us for what it is: a hodge-podge concoction of vacuous pop-culture distractions from a truly troubled world. When the end does come, no doubt it will be as confusing and messy as it is in Southland Tales.