Directed by
Steve Buscemi
84 minutes
Rated MA
Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
Interview
Synopsis: Pierre Peders (Steve Buscemi) is a political and war journalist who gets sent, much to his disgust, to do a celebrity interview with sexy soap star Katya (Sienna Miller). They meet in a restaurant and don’t hit it off but the interview continues through various vicissitudes back at her apartment. They are from totally different worlds but as the evening progresses their revelations to each other become more intimate with each discovering a different side to the other and certain areas in common.When Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered in 2004 American producer, Bruce Weiss, decided to pay homage to Van Gogh by remaking three of his films in English. This is the first of the projected trilogy and is a neat companion piece to the currently-screening Delirious, also starring Buscemi. Both of the films deal with the nature of celebrity though this one is rather more of a dialogue-driven piece than the other. In fact, it’s really all about the dialogue and the dynamic between the two characters and the two (and virtually only) actors, pull it off well. There is a terrific energy between them – the energy of hostility, rapport, conflict, and sexual tension.
Van Gogh was known for his three-camera system in which all scenes were digitally shot with one camera on the female lead, one on the male and the third on both actors and the wider set. This allowed for a quick shoot and also plenty of shots from which to choose for the final edit. It certainly makes for plenty of close-ups on the actors’ faces and a smart pace visually as well as dialogue-wise.
As Katya and Pierre battle their way through the evening with booze flowing and the odd recreational drug foray the balance of power and chemistry shifts constantly. Each reveals a certain neediness and pain in their past to the other and they relate as if in a dance of “come closer, go away”. There is the constant suspicion between them particularly after she instructs him on how to use her computer to google her name (he initially knows nothing about her) but instead he breaks into her diary files to discover secrets.
We talked about Buscemi the actor in our review of Delirious and here, whilst he is not such an infuriating or manic character, he still is terrific as the jaded, cynical world-weary journalist who will stop at nothing to get his story. In this film he also takes on the roles of director and co-writer. Miller brings a mix of toughness and seductiveness to Katya the young woman who makes you wonder what is real, what is a lie, and what is just a veneer of celebrity self-possession over an essential shallowness.
While the film raises some issues about our obsession with celebrity and also is a finely acted two-hander somehow the story is ultimately too slight to make for totally compelling viewing. But it’s fun nevertheless, particularly with the smart twist in the final scene supporting the idea that there are always winners and losers in every kind of sparring match.
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