MAIN ST DVD (2010)

SYNOPSIS: A small rural town is slowly fading away as the industries it once relied on have turned to dust, leaving empty, vacant warehouses across the landscape. Young people leave, yearning for the lights and excitement of the nearby big cities. Georgiana Carr once an heir herself but now in the same financial extreme as her neighbors, sadly decides to sell her house that she lived in her whole life. But when a stranger, Gus Leroy comes to town with an offer to rent one of Georgina's warehouses and the promise of a new business venture that will turn things around, the residents are intrigued and excited. As they embrace the newcomer, he becomes involved in their professional and personal lives in a way none of them expected, especially after they discover that Leroy's business could put them all in danger.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The indie drama “Main Street” marks the final cinematic contribution of Oscar-winning screenwriter and notable playwright Horton Foote, whose Southern dramas “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Tender Mercies” have been met with much critical acclaim. Yet it is unlikely Foote would want anyone to remember this as his swan song, for this is as far removed from his usually sharp and incisive works of social commentary as can be. Not only is it boring and lifeless, the suburban drama is also ultimately pointless, wasting an ensemble cast who do not know what to do with their respective roles.

To be fair, Hoote may not have finished his draft before his death in 2008 at the age of 92, so the blame also goes to first-time feature helmer John Doyle. The Tony-Award winning Scottish stage director (who was also at one time responsible for the staging of Sweeney Todd on West End) can’t quite figure out what he wants his movie to be, nor what his characters are supposed to be, and it’s apparent right from the start just how aimless the movie ends up being.

The backdrop of the movie is the town of Durham, North Carolina, whose hustle and bustle is all but gone with the demise of the tobacco industry. The last member of one such wealthy family in the business, Georgiana Carr (Ellen Burstyn),  is now almost broke, but refuses to sell her house for nostalgic reasons. Instead, she leases one of her warehouses to Texan Gus Leroy (Colin Firth), whose firm is looking at using the space to store canisters of hazardous waste before their disposal. Georgiana is however uneasy when she finds out what Gus intends to use for, and at the advice of her niece Willa (Patricia Clarkson), makes an attempt to reacquire the warehouse.

Another parallel narrative comes in the form of twenty-something Mary Saunders (Amber Tamblyn) who until she realises her Raleigh boss is in fact married with children dreams of him as a way out of the humdrum of life in the town. And that also means leaving behind her childhood sweetheart Harris Parker (Orlando Bloom), who still loves her but cannot seem to find the words to ask her to stay. What does Mary and Harris have to do with Gus, Willa and Georgiana? Admittedly really little- and besides the fact that they all hail from Durham, the piecing together of their two disparate stories feels disjointed.

Worse still, Doyle doesn’t sketch any of these characters properly. Gus never feels compelling enough, whether as a smarmy corporate type or as a sincere small-town folk wanting to do his best for Durham- so when he emerges as the latter, it seems more like a twist of convenience. The same goes for the purported attraction between Willa and Gus, especially since Willa started out being suspicious of Gus’ intentions. Vague too is the love between Harris and Mary, with little reason to believe why the two would like each other in the first place.

In the absence of these clear character connections, the ensemble cast simply flounder around without knowing how best to define their own as well as the relationships to their fellow characters. Firth may have won an Oscar for his performance in ‘The King’s Speech’, but there is none of that Oscar talent on display here. Same goes for the usually reliable Clarkson and Burstyn, who like Firth, seem to have sleepwalked through their roles.

At the end, there just isn’t any narrative direction to ‘Main Street’, let alone any dramatic tension or character development for that matter. It’s no wonder this drama flew under the radar despite the star cast and the pedigree of its screenwriter- ultimately, this is a complete and utter bore, and deserving of the ignorance it has received thus far. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

 The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio does fine for the talky picture. Visuals are often dull, and this release surprisingly lacks the clarity one would expect from a DVD.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Gabriel Chong