Thoughts on Sweet Jane

Thursday, July 29, 2010 10:26 PM By Simon

-The lowdown: Jane (Samantha Mathis) is a drug addicted stripper (and hooker, because they're one in the same, evidentally). After ODing, she finds out she is HIV positive. While leaving the hospital, she is followed by Tony (Long-Haired Teenage Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an orphan (or something) who (quasi-spoiler alert) has AIDS. From his dad. Ouch.

-Anyway, they bond and shit, she goes cold turkey and he starts coughing up blood, and she goes to the set of some artsy porno (in a motel, duh), where the film-school director wants her to channel Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion.

-She runs off before anything goes down, and during the subsequent withdrawel scene, the camera goes into the shadowy, claustrophobic angles of the same film. That's not to say this is some brilliantly choreographed cinematography, but it was an interesting parallel.

-Right. Otherwise, the camera work is shit, very TV-movie, and the movie itself is reactionary, hysterically grabbing you by the shoulders and screaming 'THESE PEOPLE ARE FREAKING HOPELESS, YOU BASTARD! AIDS IS BAD! THINK ABOUT THE CHIIIIIIILLLLLLDDDDDDRRRREEEEN!' Or something to that effect.

-Most of the time, it's pretty campy, sometimes it borders on gritty (ahem), a lot of the time it's schmaltzy, and occasionally delves into truely affecting.

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7 comments:

Darren said...

The more you know, eh?

July 30, 2010 at 12:45 AM
D Swizzle said...

You are being way too hard on it. The Jane chick is decent and need we mention the glory of Joseph the Long Haired?

July 30, 2010 at 5:34 AM
Alex said...

Haha wow I haven't heard of this movie. Sounds... interesting?

July 30, 2010 at 7:02 AM
Franz Patrick said...

I haven't seen this either. But you had me at "Joseph Gordon-Levitt." *N-Qd*

July 30, 2010 at 9:05 PM
Colin Biggs said...

I've heard Precious described as the black-person's Sweet Jane. And now I know why.

July 31, 2010 at 12:37 PM
CMrok93 said...

I want to check this out so bad, but I just feel like it's too disturbing and gritty for me, that I will probably just start crying every second.

July 31, 2010 at 2:09 PM
Sebastian Gutierrez said...

I didn't like this movie. I really didn't. But I had a hell of a good time writing the review, which I think you should see, since you are the one who said to include Sweet Jane on my list!

July 31, 2010 at 4:22 PM