Review of The Canyons (2013) by Grant S — 22 Aug 2014
Not great, but not anywhere near as bad as it is made out to be. Written by Bret Easton Ellis (Less than Zero, American Psycho, The Rules of Attraction, among others) it contains the usual Ellis trademarks: a character-based story of the dark side of opulent Californian living, slow-burning plot, decadence and potential violence always lurking just beneath the surface.
Throw in director Paul Shrader (Affliction, Auto Focus, American Gigolo, Cat People, among others) and you should have a recipe for a good movie.
Well, it almost gets there. Direction is fine. Script flatters to deceive, however. Starts well, builds well, but ends badly. A few more scenes were needed to tie everything together, and/or make a point.
Performances vary. Lindsay Lohan is pretty good in the female lead. I suspect some of the dislike for this movie stems from her starring in it, but she does a good job. She's not a bad actress, but I guess her private life alienates people. She's certainly an infinitely better actor than Kristen Stewart, though most people are...
Not sure why a porn actor was cast in the male lead, but James Deen does okay. Not great, but not terrible.
The supporting cast let the movie down, however, generally giving flat, not-very-convincing performances.
This review of The Canyons (2013) was written by Grant S on 22 Aug 2014.
The Canyons has generally received negative reviews.
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