Review of The Center of the World (2001) by Nathan W — 19 Sep 2010

DVRd this from IFC and omg! If this is the level of films shown routinely shown on IFC, sign me up!

I think this film was made for $200. It's pretty low-budget, distractingly so at times when it tries to be artistic, but this keeps away the idiots on imdb so credit there.

The big story is the sexual content. Evidently it's rated X for a very brief scene (ha the lollipop is only there for a few seconds and totally irrelevant but still made the poster I see). For Sarsgaard (many popular films), Parker (I liked her a lot as the rabbi in Six Feet Under), and Gugino (Son in Law and Bon Jovi's Always video) to participate definitely gets them some respect points. Brokeback Mountain did the same but we were told it was an edgy movie when it really was not all that edgy. This is truly out there, so for successful actors to go ahead and do it shows it's less about money.

I really like movies like this that feature one relationship and little else. Leaving Las Vegas still tops the list, but En La Cama, You Are Alone, and many others have been great to watch. They don't have to be spot on about relationships but usually offer something along the line of human intimacy. I think this one was weakened by some of the low-budget camera work. A major film could have offered more clarity and effect and maybe emotion. The writing is the same way. Some decent stuff, but some spots that maybe tried to hard and came off as kind of lame. Touch those up and again, a chance for some real emotion.

Still, I respect the indie films for what they are. Hell, perhaps this isn't even indie but it sure had the look and feel of being indie. It was just different and raw, especially given the cast, and that made for some interesting watching despite a very slow storyline.