Mozart & The Whale (Drama/Comedy)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Film: B-
When Ron
Bass wrote the script that became the screenplay for Rain Man, it was so good, that it bounced from director to
director, star to star. At one point, it
was going to be a TV movie, but eventually even Steven Spielberg passed on it
until it reached Barry Levinson. The
rest is history. The film was a huge
critical and commercial it, making nearly $200 Million in then-dollars and the
Best Picture Academy Award among several.
Now, Bass has come up with another story form the world of the mentally
challenged and the question with Petter Naess’ Mozart & The Whale (2005) would be Bass repeating himself or
just doing a script on a TV movie level.
Well,
Josh Hartnett got the script and loved it so much that he decided to hold onto
the script personally and was the driving force in getting it made. Though it is not up there with Rain Man, it is a very good film with
Hartnett giving more of the kind of performance he is capable of when he gets
the right material and really applies himself, which is not nearly enough. Based on a true story in action more than
just hype, he meets a woman (the grossly underrated and underused Radha
Mitchell) wit his disposition that he finds attracted to. Will she like him? Can they connect? Part of this is simply an extra challenge
since they both suffer Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild version of autism Bass’
blockbuster film made the public more aware of than ever before.
Hartnett
and Mitchell have an interesting chemistry that keeps you watching and both
resist the temptation most actors would have had to go overboard. Though not an immediate hit, I could see this
finding a new audience and it is certainly a plus for both leads who might be
further in their careers (Hartnett’s consistently working, but most of it is
unmemorable material-wise) since Hollywood is currently in flux and has been
avoiding smart scripts since the 1980s.
Hartnett bet correctly in a fine performance that, like this film, has
hearty and soul. Now if only Mitchell
would catch on. Gary Cole also stars.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is a little soft, but is shot with
thought by Cinematographer Svein Krovel, more concerned with the performances
and their private space than just a bunch of static shots. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is dialogue-based,
with voices well-recorded enough and ambient surrounds more often than anything
else except music. Extras include a good
commentary by writer Bass and trailers for other Sony titles.
- Nicholas Sheffo
