Movie Review: Chasing Holden

Chasing Holden (2001) 

Directed by Malcolm Clarke

Written by Sean Kanan

Starring D.J Qualls, Rachel Blanchard

Release Date October 11th, 2001 

Published June 3rd, 2002 

I have never read "The Catcher In the Rye". When I was a kid I thought it was about Yankee's catcher Yogi Berra, because I thought it was set in the 50's and Yogi was a catcher in the 50's. I still don't know the story fully though from seeing the straight-to-video feature Chasing Holden starring DJ Qualls I now have a good sense for the story and I may check it out. Maybe, if I find the time.

Holden is the story of Neil (Qualls), the son of the Governor of New York. Neil has just been released from a mental hospital after his father suspected he was contemplating suicide. Neil is troubled by his father’s distance that is covered by his father’s high-profile job but has more to do with a brother we never see.

Neil is enrolled at a private school where he meets the equally messed up T.J (Rachel Blanchard). They bond over Neil's dog-eared copy of “Catcher in the Rye” and their coupling in drama class. After following her home and having dinner with her parents, Neil is convinced she is a kindred spirit and invites her on his spiritual journey to meet the author of “Catcher in The Rye”, JD Salinger.

As Neil hides his past from TJ, she too has a secret health problem that she doesn't want to reveal in fear of scaring him off. As the journey goes on we begin to see that Neil's obsession with Salinger may not be a healthy one. An obsession that is well documented in a rather creepy scene where Neil explains to TJ why Mark Chapman killed John Lennon and how Chapman's motivation was linked to Salinger's book.

Qualls is a very unlikely romantic lead, but then with his gawky frame and goofy manner he is an unlikely actor. In Chasing Holden, Qualls's strange look works, giving the character an edginess that is unsettling from beginning to end. Blanchard on the other and isn't as successful. Her TJ isn't quirky enough to match Qualls's weirdness and her character's motivations are a little thin. In the end she seems more like a plot device in service of Qualls' Neil and his journey, rather than being a character in her own right.

Director Malcolm Clarke gives the feeling of a director still feeling his way around a camera. He has an idea of what he wants to do with each shot but isn't entirely sure how to make it work. In the end, Clarke's Chasing Holden is an interesting film. A little dull at times, but saved moderately by Qualls’ interesting performance.