Leonard Maltin's 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen - Maltin, Leonard [52]
Mind you, I have no issue with nonlinear storytelling, so long as the process enhances the material at hand and isn’t simply being trotted out as a gimmick.
A perfect example of how to do this well is the British import Lawless Heart, written and directed by Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger. At first we’re not aware that there is anything unconventional about the picture: it opens with the funeral of Stuart, a restaurant owner in a small seaside town. Among the mourners is Dan (played by the wonderful Bill Nighy), a doleful fellow whose wife was the deceased’s sister. Dan is at an emotional crossroads in his life and extremely susceptible to feminine attention; he shows particular interest in a Frenchwoman who works at the local flower shop.
At the end of this vignette, we pick up the same story from a wholly different point of view. This time the focus is on Nick (Tom Hollander), Stuart’s partner, who’s in a state of shock over his lover’s death. Uncertain as to whether he wants to continue operating the restaurant or return to London, he invites Stuart’s boyhood friend Tim (Douglas Henshall) to stay with him while he’s in town, then finds himself being pursued by a kooky woman named Charlie (Sukie Smith) who seems unconcerned with the fact that he’s gay.
The final segment deals with Tim, a hippie-esque character who’s been away for years. Being back home fires different emotions in him, including the possibility of settling down.
The beauty of this film is that with each retelling we get to know these characters better and understand the larger context of their actions and decisions. Overlapping incidents, including secrets and deceptions, offer us the satisfaction of putting the pieces of a puzzle together and fitting them all into place.
Yet the filmmakers don’t attempt to tie everything up in a neat little package; that’s also part of what makes Lawless Heart so interesting.
The performances are first-rate across the board, but I confess a special fondness for Bill Nighy, who was just making a name for himself on this side of the pond when Lawless Heart turned up. He won the Best Supporting Actor award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association that year, spurred by his hilarious performance as a sardonic rock star in Love Actually. Since that time he has become one of the world’s foremost character actors, known to millions as Davy Jones from two Pirates of the Caribbean outings. I would put his work in this film against anything else he’s done to show his brilliance in balancing comedy and drama within one conflicted character.
72. LEVITY
(2003)
Directed by Ed Solomon
Screenplay by Ed Solomon
Actors:
BILLY BOB THORNTON
MORGAN FREEMAN
HOLLY HUNTER
KIRSTEN DUNST
MANUEL ARANGUIZ
DORIAN HAREWOOD
GEOFFREY WIGDOR
LUKE ROBERTSON
Sometimes when my fellow critics disagree with me, I’m at a loss to explain the difference of opinions. One film that I found absorbing—and quite moving—received negative, even hostile, reviews. Levity marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Ed Solomon, whose work up until that time was mostly in a comedic or lighthearted vein (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Men in Black, What Planet Are You From?). Perhaps some people felt he was overreaching with this ultraserious drama—but as I say, I like it. And yes, the title is meant to be ironic.
Billy Bob Thornton plays a man who’s spent more than twenty years—in fact, his whole adult life—in prison for a murder he committed during a robbery. Now his time is up. Leaving the safe haven of prison is a daunting prospect, and as he reluctantly returns to the world outside (a world he’s never experienced as a grown-up) he feels an aching need to make contact with the sister of the man he killed. He returns to the scene of his crime, cruising the neighborhood hoping to make contact with her (Holly Hunter). But when they do connect, and eventually get to know each other, he can