Yesterday I saw the DVD of Shopgirl, a movie starring Steve Martin and Claire Danes based on a book (sorry, Novella) by Steve Martin. The movie seemed to be about the feeling of loneliness while residing in a large society (in this case, Los Angeles). The movie features three main characters, each of whom suffer from neurosis and personality problems that keep them from belonging with general society. The lead character Marybelle, played by Claire Danes, is a struggling artist working is Saks who is desperately lonely. Steve Martin is Ray Palmer, a wealthy man who is lonely due to his fear of being close to people . The final lead character is Jeremy, played by Jason Swartzham (sp?), a creative artist who can only express himself in half random outbursts.
The movie follows the structure of a romantic comedy, but the somber, lonely mood drains much of the humor out of it. Instead, the movie seems like a bittersweet fairy tale. Dane's character, desperate for a partner, endures bizarre and insensitive behavior from her suitors Jeremy and Ray. The movie follows a slow pace and the jagged dialogue adds to the realism of the charcters and setting. The occasional shots spotlighting characters alone with the corners darkened around them added to the isolated feeling (the shots reminded me of REM's Losing My Religion video). All of the actors give strong performances, though Steve Martin's performance reminded me a lot of Robin Williams in "serious actor" mode and Jason Schwartzham's performance is a little too comic compared to the rest of the characters.
Ultimately, the slow pace that adds to the realism at the beginning starts to drag the movie down halfway through. Given that all of the characters are odd, there is difficulty in finding anyone for the audience to directly relate to. Without giving away the ending, the movie's final subject doesn't seem to be Claire Dane's Shopgirl but Steve Martin's Ray Palmer. And like Palmer, this movie has everything going for it externally but keeps everyone at arms length. I'll give this movie a 7 out of 10.
Following the popular theme of isolationism in a large society, particularly one ruled by instant electronic communication is the Number 96 CD:
Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)
Unlike many of the fans of Radiohead I have read about on the internet, I can't claim to love this band. I've read a lot about them and all the reasons why they are great, but outside of this album I can't see what the big deal is. Still, this particular album OK Computer stands out to me as one of the few modern albums to effectively capture a mood of restless disappointment caused by a society where all human interaction has been standardized by monalithic rules of behavior.
The hit song, "Karma Police", is a great example of this feeling. The song lyrically tells about how people who do bad things will eventually get what's coming to them. The lyric, "This is what you'll get when you mess with us" sounds intimidating but is sung in a detached, whiny manner that makes it seem like an idle threat. Musically, the album seems to alternate between U2 styled distortion and Pink Floydish pastoralism. My favorite track is "No Surprises", a song which to me is about the struggle between the safety of a planned life versus the lament of having everything be predictable. Another great song is "Paranoid Android", a six minute song that plays out like an alternative progressive rock band in top form with many sudden changes from quiet passages to slashing guitars.
While Radiohead seems a bit overhyped to me as a band, this album is definitely worth listening to.
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