Film Review #21

                I received my first taste of the Savannah Film Festival when I watched City of Ghosts. The 2002 drama was written and directed by Matt Dillon who also stars in the film. Other well-known actors include James Caan, Stellan Skarsgård, Natascha McElhone, and Gérard Depardieu. I have mixed feelings about this film. The acting is on par but the promising plot suffers from being overly long. The movie clocks in at 116 minutes. 16 of those minutes could have been chopped off if the film didn't irrelevantly focus on random characters. I tried my best to practice cultural relativism but the music is dissonant at times. I’ll get to all of this in good time. For now, let’s get to the plot!

                City of Ghosts focuses on a conman named Jimmy (Dillon) who is working in New York City. After being questioned by the FBI about being involved in a Ponzi scheme Jimmy heads to Thailand to find his mentor Marvin (Caan), who just so happened to flee the country before questions started getting raised. Through a series of connections he finds himself traveling to Cambodia to track down Marvin. When Jimmy finally arrives there he enters a world of poverty, uncertainty, and danger. The only person he can trust is a loyal cyclo driver named Sok (Kem Sereyvuth). A game of cat and mouse evolves between Jimmy and Marvin that keeps the former guessing. Along the way, shady characters pop up making the audience ponder whether Jimmy will meet death or barely escape with his life.

                Dillon is the focal point of the film and quite convincing as a confused criminal searching for his thieving partner in crime. When Caan does finally appear on the silver screen he is perfect as shadowy Marvin, a thief who knows much more than he will ever let on. If you give some people an inch they will take a mile. Caan’s character will take two miles! Stellan Skarsgård and Kem Sereyvuth deserve praise for both of their roles. They were strong supporting actors that helped us kind of-sort of sympathize with conman Jimmy. Gérard Depardieu is hilarious as a fuming Frenchman who only wants to be left alone to run his hotel. Natascha McElhone is a great actress but the romance between Dillon’s character and hers is rather flat- similar to the end of a summer tryst.  Adding this angle was close to pointless. Overall, my expectations were fulfilled. As I mentioned before, the script’s plot suffers more than the performances.

So.... What's the importance of our romance again?

                The music in this film was dissonant and at times overwhelming. There was no harmony. I don’t know who wrote the score but it seemed like all the music was similar and there was never a moment where the music was calming or pleasant. I’m sure on some level, the music did help layer this story but from my perspective it was very difficult. I can only remember being satisfied with the ending soundtrack. The shots in this film were pretty basic. A series of close-ups, wide shots, 2 shots, and various other viewpoints were taken. The director of photography certainly deserves praise for the aesthetic of the film. Cambodia was put on display in a beautiful yet humanizing fashion.

                I won’t lie to my audience. I’m not going to rave about this film. It’s not horrible… but it’s not great. It’s just somewhere in between. I suppose I would encourage people to see this film if they’d enjoy seeing what it’s like to shoot “on location.” In this sense, City of Ghosts has the same appeal as Slum Dog Millionaire or The Kite Runner. Just less complex and with a much poorer storyline. In the end, Dillon’s film is promising but never lives up to anything.

6 out of 10