It’s time to once again bid farewell to the Cannes Film Festival and, of course, the city itself. It breaks my heart that I’ll be missing Roman Polanski‘s Based On A True Story, which screens at 8:30 am. But I made a decision to hit the road by 8 am, and I’m sticking to that.
Yesterday nearly every Cannes critic went apeshit over Benny and Josh Safdie‘s Good Time, a visceral, high-crank crime drama about a couple of low-life, bank-robbing brothers, Robert Pattinson‘s Connie and Benny Safdie‘s Nick, running around Queens. Nick is basically Lenny from Of Mice and Men, and right away I was going “oh, Jesus, I have to hang out with some stammering…I’m sorry, challenged guy for the next 100 minutes? This guy can’t put two sentences together without sweating from the mental strain.” Then it turned I didn’t have to — fine. But I was definitely stuck with Pattinson’s Connie, whose brain cell count obviously is only slightly higher than his brother’s.
The Safdie brothers know how to whip action into a lather and keep the kettle boiling, and there’s no doubt that Good Time felt like the punchiest and craziest film to play during the festival, which is why so many critics, feeling underwhelmed by a relatively weak lineup, responded with such fervor. But I can’t abide stupidity, and after 40 minutes of watching these simpletons hold up a bank and run around and ruthlessly use people to duck the heat I was praying that at least one of them would get shot or arrested. I can roll with scumbags and sociopaths, but I need a little something I can relate to or identify with. If the repulsion factor is too strong, I check out. And that’s what I did in this instance. And good riddance.
I’m sorry but I have to catch an 11:30 am bus to Nice Airport to rent a car and meet the SRO. Given this commitment, I felt it was more important to file what I could this morning rather than attend the 8:30 am of Fatih Akin‘s In The Fade, which I can see this evening at 8 pm if it’s really all that good. I can also catch Francois Ozon‘s L’amant double, which I’ve been told is somewhat similar to Swimming Pool, this evening at 7 pm. Jacqueline Bisset, Marine Vacth and Jeremie Renier costar. If that falls away there’s also a Patty Cakes screening at 7 pm. This is my tenth day of this festival, and the eleventh if you count the 5.16 train trip from Paris + the La Pizza journo gathering. I’d be lying if I said I’m not feeling an urge to disengage.
On behalf of Sony Classics honchos Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, publicist Jeff Hill invited top-dog Cannes journos to a Thursday luncheon at Silencio (5 rue des Belges) honoring Brigsby Bear. Star-cowriter Kyle Mooney, director Dave McCary, costar Greg Kinnear, cowriter Kevin Costello and costar Kate Lyn Sheil were the headliners. Incidentally: I’ve been told by Loveless music composer Evgueni Galperine to visit Club Silencio in Paris (142 Rue Montmartre) — open since ’11, designed by David Lynch.
Brigsby Bear‘s Kyle Mooney, Greg Kinnear — Thursday, 5.25, 1:40 pm.
(l. to r.) Brigsby Bear co-writer Kevin Costello, director Dave McCary, Wrap correspondent Ben Croal during Thursday luncheon at Silencio.
Brokeback Mountain commentary sent to HE by Costello 11 and 1/3 years ago, when Costello was an Oklahoma resident.
