Patrick Fugit – Cut To The Chase

Written & Directed By Damien Chazelle

Cinematography: Luis Sandgren

Editor: Tom Cross

Cast: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Lukas Haas, Jean Smart, Olivia Wilde, Samara Weaving, Flea, Max Minghella, Li Jun Li, Jeff Garlin, Katherine Waterston, Tobey Maguire, Ethan Suplee, Kaia Gerber, Joe Dellesandro, Patrick Fugit, Eric Roberts, Rory Scovel, P.J. Byrne, Bob Clendenin

Hollywood, 1926. Nellie LaRoy is trying to catch her first break as an actress. Manny Torres wants to do something in movies, anything as he believes filmmaking is the ultimate profession. Sidney Palmer is an unambitious young trumpeter who is happy to go wherever the music takes him. Jack Conrad is Hollywood’s #1 leading man. Their lives and careers are about to be intertwined in the maelstrom of ambition, breakthroughs, disappointments, changing technology and audiences, and decadence.

Next to WHIPLASH, this might be Director Damien Chazelle‘s best film. It’s another film like his previous film LA LA LAND, exploring the history, tragedy, and beauty of Hollywood and the unending industry of dreams. He tackled this after a journey literally to outer space with the film FIRST MAN.

This reeks of a passion project, and while it has a lengthy running time it truly is an epic. Where are you? Don’t notice the running time though you can feel the 3 act structure. A sprawling epic of mythic proportions. As after all, it is Hollywood.

The film offers, a dazzling, beginning, where we are quickly brought into the debauchery of the era, which sets us Avenue for how low, and how dirty the characters will go throughout, The characters and the Director guide you through with interest as to what’s going on around you and offer you little intros, hints, and suggestions

The lead in our story, played by Diego Calva, is of Mexican heritage. He seems as if he is a stand-in for half the film, not strongly involved, necessarily, letting the film focus on other things and other than the main one. After all most of the other supporting characters are played by movie stars, whose characters stars or become movie stars. The main character gets more involved in it all in the second half as he rises up the Hollywood ladder, and the other two main characters played by Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie are falling for various reasons

An interest in film history and classic movie Stars will help when it comes to any audience member’s interest in the film. It plays like a dash of DAY OF THE LOCUST and Hollywood Babylon, with a refreshing SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN way of working next to each other, though, don’t necessarily share many scenes together, and as the film shows how Hollywood is moving to talkies and sound from silent films.

Margot Robbie gives a truly iconic performance, where she truly gives her all and shows the appeal of her character, especially in her low moments. She is the battery of sorts. While The scandals that pepper, the background well her character will do anything to be a star while living up to her nickname in the film

Brad Pitt plays in the movie star who has tons of ideas for future productions, but as his time is coming to a close, he ends up losing confidence even as he is the one who has helped build or added to the industry at the time and has made many crews comfortable, but as times change his own is limited And he can’t stand being a laughingstock or even being thought, less than

Tobey Maguire‘s appearance seems to be meant to be like Alfred Molina‘s in Boogie Nights cause a ruckus and adding a bit of danger to an already volatile situation, and while he does incomes closest to a villain other than his degrading look, he doesn’t make as much of an impression though he is definitely scary

The film is like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, only it doesn’t rewrite history but takes its time telling stories

Add heart the film is a love story in there for people, as well as others art Hollywood life but also with the Darkside th thrown in as kind of what you have to go through to get there, what you have to deal with to stay there

The film and its title can be seen, Like Hollywood Babylon, where its title seems to come from, so it’s a kingdom that slowly comes down and wild rice, and again had the purge itself

Like the Ryan Murphy Limited series, HOLLYWOOD, this film tries to add color in minorities to the history of Hollywood yet unlike that project, this doesn’t try to rewrite history and please all who are involved instead it offers details like it is to a degree showing the ugly truth.

Now Jovan Adepo, as a jazz musician in this, feels a bit forced as his storylines come to nothing really other than representation but nothing is done with it and it could’ve been so much more. The same with Lady Fay Zhu character. Who is of Asian nationality. Though it does fit the episodic nature of the film. Though quickly drops these characters of color

Who even has a relationship with a major character and leaves to be A mere background character. It feels like it wasn’t phased out or cut out. He just feels a little like pandering for inclusion. At least the film and the Director, Damien Chazelle tries just not enough entirely.

The founders have rapid editing in the beginning that is a little distracting like the film Moulin Rouge, though as it settles and sets up who we are mostly going to follow and becomes confident and takes, it’s time

It’s a strong film for an audience. I only wish I had seen it on the big screen because that is what it deserves as it is pure Cinema.

The film was unfairly picked on, and the result of bad press as watching it now it comes across more as an underrated gem, and a kind of lost opportunity for film fans. As it does come across as an informative film, lovers dream of Hollywood history.

The characters cross, each other’s pass, but offer each other no real goodbyes, which might be why the ending hit so hard.

Grade: A-

Directed & Edited By: Jonas Akerlund
Written By: Will De La Santos & Creighton Vero
Cinematography By: Eric Broms

Cast: Jason Schwartzmen, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo, Mena Suvari, Josh Peck, Patrick Fugit, Debbie Harry, China Chow, Charlotte Ayana, Julia Mendoza, Eric Roberts, Nicholas Gonzalez, Larry Drake, Rob Halford, Tony Kaye, Ron Jeremy, Billy Corgan

A drug dealer introduces one of his customers, a ‘speed freak’, to the man who runs the meth lab. A crazy three-day adventure ensues.

This film is just a dirty as the characters it portrays it seems to be trying to send the message of drawing you in with the visuals and showing you the life of a tweaker so you can see how pathetic and disgusting the life is but at times it seems to also make some characters mythically cool like the character of the cook played by Mickey Rourke..

Worse all the bad things seem to be played more for comedy than anything else like telling a story. I wanted to like the film but only found a few things noteworthy or fascinating.

Like most movies that involve drugs as central to the plot and addicts as most of the main characters, there is a lot of misadventures that you think are going to add up to something like a plot but it ends up the movie doesn’t really have anything to say.

Sure visually it is great and the cast is likable but they need better material they inhabit the characters but if the characters are just there with nothing to do then it’s just like the life of tweakers a waste.

The movie is directed by Jonas Akerlund who has directed videos for Madonna, He certainly has an eye for visuals but he needs to find material that matches his eye here he doesn’t find it. There seems to be an epidemic with foreign directors when they make American movies they seem to like to direct stories that focus on the underground and the downtrodden there are little joy’s and mostly bleak existences which is there right to do but at least make it dramatic or interesting that would be nice instead of making it seem like a photoshoot with a theme no substance and all deteriorating gloss.

There are some really gross scenes like Mena Suvari having a bowel movement or John Leguizamo’s constant masturbating or the castration of Patrick fugit I can understand the need to be shocking with your dark comedy to be noticed and make a statement.

A drug dealer introduces one of his customers, a ‘speed freak’, to the man who runs the meth lab. A crazy three-day adventure ensues.

it’s just a wasted endeavor here, in fact, the most interesting character is in the movie but really doesn’t do too much and that is Mickey Rourke the movie isn’t all bad it‘s worth a watch but it’s not as good or revolutionary as it thinks it is.

You get to see The strippers, The dealers, Porn shops, and all the usual taboo material. But for some reason it seems rather tame and not cutting edge.

The film has a certain hyper stylization in a kind of trash culture. Trying to glamorize it. It’s distracting though while the film tries to offer characterizations to give us in the audience, people to care about and follow. It also uses then and their pathetic was as folly for humor more than anything else.

It also was the beginning of what seems to be Brittany Murphy’s third act where she seemed to play floozies, addicts and simpletons. Ladies who just seemed off. As she is attractive but seems so out of it that you wonder if it is method acting.

As depending when you were introduced to her as an actress. At first she was a child star then she grew up and played supporting characters and then leads that were more romantic comedic or comedic then she changed her look a bit and became more dramatic. Then the third act of her career came in films like THE DEAD GIRL and SIN CITY. If you watched her grow from a Child actress to here. You wondered if this was a new phase in her career or developing a type to play. As she went fro. Cute to sexy to skanky. Though still walking to the best fi her own drummer.

The film was originally intended to be a documentary on Meth Cooks. Instead, they just took the story of a meth addict (Co-Writer Will De La Santos) and his experiences chauffering a meth cook around town in Eugene, Oregan for three days. They just embellished the stories to be more cinematic.

GRADE: C-

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