The Popkorn Junkie :: The Man From Elysian Fields

Here's a 'what if' scenario for you. What if Gloria Estefan's best friend joined forces with the lead singer of one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time, and then joined forces with an 'ER' vixen and that nasty old man from "Affliction"? Well, throw in the director of that quaint little short film "Some Folks Call It A Slingblade" (which, by the way, launched Billy Bob Thornton's career, and you get "The Man from Elysian Fields", the first 'real' indie film of the year, made on a budget that could barely be considered enough to buy a pair of sneakers. Is it a good indie flick? Not really. Does it live up to the standards of the indie world? Not really. Some gentleman made the statement on www.imdb.com that it reminded him of an episode of "Red Shoe Diaries" and that statement is right on target.

Andy Garcia stars as an executive who gives up his position of power to write novels. His inability to do so causes tension between he and his wife (Julianna Margulies), which ultimately causes him to take a job at an escort service, ran by the mysterious Luther Fox (Mick Jagger). He eventually meets a woman (Olivia Williams) whose husband is a successful writer, (James Coburn), which he hopes will help him along his way to completing his novel. Pretty interesting plot, eh? Yeah, if you take away all the old cliches and discontinue any sense of realism and normality. Otherwise, this is fairly average and definitely not worth the eight-fifty for the ticket (senior citizens only pay six fifty, so they can still go and see it).

Andy Garcia graces us with a film very rarely and "Ocean's Eleven" was the last film I can remember seeing him in, unless I happened to miss one since then. He is a fine actor and should star in movies more often, though his political and social activism takes most of his attention I am sure. He really doesn't do anything special here. It was almost like the same character he portrayed in "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead", just not as crusty or rough around the edges. I was expecting there to be something very special about this film if the script was peculiar enough to warrant his hopping aboard. Alas, I guess he was just ready to make an indie flick and 'any old indie flick would do'.

The two female leads, Julianna Margulies and Olivia Williams, are nice to watch on screen, as they usually are. Olivia Williams was fantastic in "Rushmore", and Julianna Margulies' new film "Ghost Ship" has potential, but even their grace on screen cannot save "The Man from Elysian Fields". James Coburn also does a fine job as the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, though Mick Jagger does fall extremely short as the mysterious escort service owner. He just isn't mysterious enough to raise any question marks in my direction. Anjelica Huston also pops up in the film, as does Maureen McCormick, aka TV's Marcia Brady.

So, "The Man from Elysian Fields" falls victim to a TV-movie feel and mediocre acting from a talented group. It also suffers from this David Lynch texture which can only be a triumph when it is done by David Lynch. Director George Hickenlooper tries, but just doesn't come through. He might have had his 15 minutes with Billy Bob and a sling blade, but even he can't make Mick Jagger a good actor. Anyone remember "Freejack". Ugh. Let's not go there. Anyway, wait until video to see this jumbled mess, though I will recommend you see it sometime before you die. No rush.

-- Billy Ray ( 1 1/2 out of 4 pops )

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