Review of Speaking Parts (1990) by Liching O — 11 May 2005

It took me about 5 days to fully unpack. I really have too much "stuff". Most of the random objects I have are not even worthy of being categorized as "stuff". Regardless, they are still tangible and occupy space, so I must find a place to put them, even if that place is the garbage. I'm too damn sentimental to throw away most things from the past, however. Nostalgia is my weakness.

I must say -- [b][i]His Girl Friday[/i][/b] is a bit overwhelming. Witty, sly and fresh, for sure, but I needed to catch my breath sometimes. I expected it to be a hoot, but I was not expecting it to be so gleefully sardonic. Yeesh -- good thing I am not going to be a journalism major anymore. [b]A-[/b].

Although [i][b]Crash[/b] [/i]is ambitious, Haggis commits the sin of having an ensemble cast and underdeveloping the majority of them. Therefore, the characters are basically stereotypes with one sympathetic scene. Perhaps that was deliberate, but it still does not account for a hollw core. Some scenes are tense and very effective, but the film as a whole is only momentarily powerful. Haggis strives to find a way to express racism but his presentation is too overt and preachy. I always thought of racism as being subtle. Haggis isn't sure if he wants to create an observant reflection on society or a hyperbolized depiction which exposes the ugliness of humans. For a film that tries to neatly tie all of the characters together in the end, it doesn't seem to have a strong focus on the themes and narrative.

When I was watching this film, I could not help but think of it as a mix of [i]Short Cuts[/i], [i]Amores Perros[/i] and [i]Do the Right Thing[/i]; all of which are better films (even though I am not a [i]Short Cuts[/i] fan). [i]Do the Right Thing[/i] made me question our racism while this film makes me feel particularly nonracist because I don't yell slurs at the faces of people of other races when I interact with them. [b]C+[/b].

I was shocked at how at ease I was when watching the powerful and shocked [b][i]Speaking Parts[/i][/b]. The themes spoke loud-and-clear, but still had an edge to them which I appreciate. One of my minor complaints is the end montage. I really love how it is executed (with the intermittent fuzz and various other unpleasant sounds) but it just seemed a bit derivative to me, without knowing exactly where I had seen it before. Regardless, Egoyan succeeds again in weaving a tale of desire and alienation. [b]B+.

[/b]I'm going to be in Manhattan tomorrow, both to meet up with a friend and see some films. We are going to [i]Enron [/i](it is playing at my local arthouse, but she said to wait for her, so I felt obliged). Then I'll rendevous with my siblings (my brother has not confirmed yet, however) -- dinner, and I might go to see Duk's [i]3-Iron[/i].

Catch ya later, kiddos.