Review of The Canyons (2013) by Lylah F — 14 Jun 2014

Wow, this movie appears to have not gotten a fair shake from most critics. Maybe it's because of who Lindsay Lohan was and has become over the past decade, or maybe it's because the director dared to cast a porn star in a "legitimate" role, or maybe it's just that Bret Easton Ellis isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Maybe it's because there are a few brief scenes involving male nudity and homoeroticism. I don't know, but this is a really interesting movie involving a number of smart and talented people, and it has some interesting things to say about the state of the film industry and how movies get made.

Lindsay Lohan gives a genuinely tense, brave, non-airbrushed performance, James Deen gets the sexually dominant guy with Big Issues right and the cinematography constantly evokes an aura of The Death of Hollywood.

There's some stilted acting from a couple of the lesser known actors and I thought James Deen's character going American Psycho was overkill on Ellis's part (a more downplayed climax would have fit the film better imo) but this is a much better, much more interesting film than most of its critical reviews reflect.