Film Review: Southland Tales

So I realize this is not a review of In the Valley of Elah, but PROBABLY next time.

With the stories surrounding Southland Tales’ release, the reviews which generally place the film into the pantheon of gloriously bad movies and the numerous amounts of confusion surrounding the plot I simply didn’t know what to expect. Richard Kelly, the film’s infamous director, has acquired himself a rabid fan base. His first film, Donnie Darko, was interesting enough the first fifteen times someone insisted I watched it, but it never impressed me in any way. It was merely cool. So with all that being said I was pleasantly surprised by Southland Tales. Yes, it is a pretty lousy film, but it is a fun lousy film.

While I think I can count myself amongst those critics that actually understands the majority of the plot, revealing too much of plot would take from some of the fun away from watching it. Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” stars as a famous actor with political ties. In fact, he is married to the vice president’s daughter played by Mandy Moore. Ex-Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a porn star that gets herself stuck in the middle of the situation. Those last three sentences alone may have caused some of you to run for cover, but I assure you their performances are all, to some degree, competent, or at least competent enough for this movie. There are numerous other characters and stories, some about the end of the world, time travel and the effects of The Patriot Act. It is, I must confess, a truly glorious mess of film.

Richard Kelly has some good ideas here, but there are way too many ideas. I was lucky enough to see the trimmed down version of the film. I honestly don’t think I could have dealt with any more length from the film. Actually, even with this new cut it does feel a bit too long.

I don’t really have much to say about the film. It is simply not nearly as horrific as some have claimed and certainly no misunderstood masterpiece. It is just a fun, at times funny, film that will in time win itself a fan base of people looking for a modern film to play at midnight showings. I could never suggest the film to anyone and I know more than one person that would probably loathe the film. However, if let your mind enter the world of the film, and ignore the lame attempts on the director’s part to make “profound” points about American politics, the film can be fun in that way Independence Day is fun.

There is a scene somewhere in the middle of the film where Justin Timberlake, who plays an Iraq war veteran, has a musical number with the song “Things I’ve Done” by The Killers. The absurdity of this scene and the look of seriousness on Timberlake’s face make this film worth watching. If you watch this scene from within the confines of the film and don’t at least chuckle, I would advise you to check your pulse.