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| 9/3/2003 |
| Northfork: Stranger in a Strange Land |
A Movie Review
by Wes Bennett
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“Northfork” has been called a film experiment in the literary style known as 'magic realism,' which may explain the lack of a compelling or coherent plot structure. By relying on three loosely connected stories, the film seems more concerned with setting a mood.
Some will praise this as opposed too more formulaic
Films. Others will be frustrated by the lack of plot.
This raises the question that was addressed in “Adaptation:” can true art conform itself to the traditional 3 act structure? Yes and no.
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film: “An
enigmatic yet seductive film that presents a challenge to the viewer even as it evokes a mystical feeling of transcendence.”
Yet, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, “Audiences will be confused, but confusion is not the problem. "Northfork" is numbing and inert.
The movie takes place in Northfork, Montana circa 1955, days before a new power-plant dam floods the town.
James Woods, along with five other identical men in black coats and gray hats are trying to evacuate the last stragglers out of town like the man who built an ark around his house.
Meanwhile, a grizzled pastor (Nick Nolte) takes custody of Irvin an ailing boy whose parents adopted him from the priest's orphanage, and now want to leave him behind.
Irwin has apparently been separated from his 'family' of earthbound angels, a bizarrely costumed, ragtag group including (Anthony Edwards as a nearly blind double amputee), (Daryl Hannah, looking absolutely heinous in a, spiky wig and a Romeo getup), and an effeminate English gentlemen, who hang around one of the abandoned town’s vacant houses, waiting for Irwin.
The adventures of the eviction teams and Nolte’s priest are intercut with the bizarre dreams of Irwin as he tries to convince the angels that he is one of them. (This still doesn’t quite make sense to me).
What saves the film is its stark visual beauty. One can’t help but admire the beauty of the bare, rolling hills of the high plains in Montana and the gray, wind-whipped big sky above.
The color has been leached out, leaving behind images that are almost of black-and-white quality. This approach enhances the sense of grim loneliness.
The excellent “Waking Life” had no real plot but remained incredibly fascinating. That remains, in my opinion, the best way to judge a film. Did it keep your interest? Was it entertaining? “Northfork” was most of the time, but sometimes, especially with the dreamlike angels, things just got too weird.
Beyond its striking visual presence, the movie has an over-reliance on gratuitous oddity. This is a film that might be more enjoyable while using drugs (hello “The Cell.”)
Part mournful, part darkly comedic, and part self-indulgent, in the end the film is great to look at but not very compelling, think Angelina Jolie after a lobotomy or Mariah Carey after a nap.
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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