Review of The Man from Elysian Fields (2001) by Adam K — 06 Sep 2009

It's been a few years since I saw this film, but I still remember it being quite good. I prefer Andy Garcia in sympathetic roles as opposed to villainous ones, and this film is an excellent avenue for him to shine as a desperate and vulnerable husband and father. His desire to be a successful writer is second only to his need to provide for his wife and child, and the film believably thrusts him into the role of a male escort to high class female clients.

The supporting cast is nothing short of great too. Mick Jagger is wonderful as an aging gigolo who is secretly in love with one of his longtime clients (Anjelica Huston). He simultaneously acts as the devil and the angel on Andy Garcia's shoulder, first luring Garcia to become a gigolo, and yet also providing advice about love and life, advice that we can tell he regrets not following himself as a younger man.

Juliana Margulies does well as the disappointed-but-patient wife, and yet we feel sympathy towards both her and her struggling husband as he is pulled deeper into a strange relationship with a famous novelist (Jamed Coburn) and his young wife (Olivia Williams).

An excellent film about hopes and dreams, and the lengths that our human nature will propel us to try and fulfill them.