Movie Review Ten Tiny Love Stories

Ten Tiny Love Stories (2001) 

Directed by Rodrigo Garcia 

Written by Rodrigo Garcia 

Starring Lisa Gay Hamilton, Elizabeth Pena, Alicia Witt, Debra Kara Unger

Release Date December 2001

Published December 17th, 2002 

The title of the film Ten Tiny Love Stories, gives one the impression of a quirky little indie love story. In reality, however, writer/director Rodrigo Garcia delivers something altogether different—a takeoff of Broadway's The Vagina Monologues, as edited by the people at Lifetime television.

The film is a pseudo documentary composed of ten straight-to-the-camera monologues by ten different actresses. Some are well-known indie actresses like Radha Mitchell, Elizabeth Pena and Lisa Gay Hamilton and some are more recognizable actresses like Kathy Baker, Debra Unger, and Kimberly Williams.

Though I compared the film with The Vagina Monologues, not all of the 5-to-10 minute monologues are sexual in nature. The film opens with Mitchell remembering an old boyfriend. Then Alicia Witt remembers her first sexual experience. And from there, each actress shares, confesses, and cries over memories of past relationships.

Lisa Gay Hamilton delivers the best monologue, an actress I don't know all that well (but she has one of those faces I know I've seen before.) The story Hamilton tells is of a blind date, it begins with her being strong and assertive. Gradually, she shows her true self, and bears her insecurities in a way that is shocking and moving.

Later in the film, Kimberly Williams delivers a sad monologue on promiscuity abroad that seems innocent at the start but becomes dark as it goes on. Williams could have benefited from a little improvisation, for, at times, her monologue seems more read than delivered. It is still well delivered and definitely attention grabbing.

The interesting thing about the film is that at first I wasn't sure if I was watching a real documentary or not. Both Mitchell and Witt open the film with very off the cuff remarks as if they were telling their own story.

Elizabeth Pena however is clearly in character as a cold-hearted woman who tells of leaving her husband simply because she was bored. Her delivery is agitated and she smokes as if the cigarette were a weapon. She destroys any pretense of being real through her sometimes over-the-top meanness.

The fact that director Rodrigo Garcia is also credited as the screenwriter indicates these stories aren't true—or at least not the stories that these actresses tell. The writing is good for a man writing for a woman; something historically difficult. The film is, however, a little loosely edited. Some actresses go on too long and keep talking past the point of their story.

I'm not sure what Garcia intended to accomplish with this film. It's interesting on a sociological and conversational level, but in the end it’s somewhat aimless.

Movie Review Silent Hill

Silent Hill (2006) 

Directed by Christophe Gans

Written by Roger Avary, Christophe Gans

Starring Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Debra Kara Unger 

Release Date April 21st, 2006 

Published April 27th, 2006

Horror movies based on videogames are supposed to suck. They are supposed to be directed by hacks like Andrej Bartkowiak (Doom) or Uwe Boll (Bloodrayne, House of The Dead, Alone In The Dark). They are supposed to incorporate the awful first person perspective that makes video games individual experiences rather than communal ones like.. oh I don't know... movies!

That is what makes the new horror flick Silent Hill such a pleasant and disturbing surprise. Based on a popular late nineties video game about a haunted West Virginia mining town, Silent Hill is a creepy mixture of dazzling horror visuals and a little girl power.

Radha Mitchell stars in Silent Hill as Rose Da Silva whose adopted daughter Sharon(Jodelle Ferland)  has developed a frightening penchant for sleepwalking to the hilly peaks surrounding their home. While sleepwalking, Sharon mumbles about a place called Silent Hill which seems to hold the key to her nightmares.

Sharon's father Chris (Sean Bean) wants his daughter to go to the hospital but Rose inexplicably believes that taking Sharon to Silent Hill will quell her nightmares and mid night strolls. It's a faulty premise that calls Rose's character into question but you have to stick with this film to enjoy it.

On the road to Silent Hill, which is supposed to be closed to traffic, Rose is tailed by a police officer, Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden) who has a traumatic history with Silent Hill herself. Officer Bennett tries to stop Sharon from going to Silent Hill but before she can both are involved in an accident that leads to Sharon's disappearance. Together, upon waking from their injuries, Rose and officer Bennett must enter Silent Hill to find the child.

The town of Silent Hill was closed off from the rest of the world after what police called a mining accident some 30 years ago. The entire town was nearly swallowed by an underground coal fire that continues to spew ash over the abandoned city.

The few remaining residents are tormented by the spirits of the people who died in the fire and take refuge in a church where their prayers keep the demons at bay. The remaining citizens have a dark secret linked to the fire that killed the town and Rose's daughter's dangerous connection to it as well.

The story of Silent Hill is often convoluted and bewildering but director Christophe Gans escapes the plot issues by dressing the film in some of the most striking horror images in the genre. Gans shows some serious horror chops in creating frightening visuals and startling characters. There are the children made of ash, formless, bile spewing zombies and a killer carrying the largest sharp weapon of any horror villain in history.

Maybe the film's best contribution to modern horror are its two lead actresses. Radha Mitchell and Laurie Holden both deliver strong performances but are more important symbolically as the rare occasion of women in horror who are not merely victims, naked bodies or scream queens. These are two strong fully formed female characters and that they exist at all in the modern horror genre makes Silent Hill a worthy effort.

Visually frightening and dazzling Silent Hill may not be a great film but by modern horror standards it's among the best of the genre. For horror fans Silent Hill is a must see.