What: In this talking-head film from Sally Potter, a death at a fashion show goes from "accidental" to "murder investigation," and a student blogger who is filming behind the scenes captures some telling footage.
The marvelous cast includes (deep breath): Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, Bob Balaban, Lily Cole, Eddie Izzard, Jude Law (striking in drag), John Leguizamo, and Dianne Wiest.
For me, the highlight is not just the cast, but the casting. The actors were clearly painstakingly chosen for their specific roles. This is important, because the short monologues, tightly shot, don't allow any room for shortcuts or cheats.
Comparable to: The piece-y, character-driven qualities of Altman films.
Representative quote: "Humans are, quite simply, the greatest destroyers of all time."
You might not like it if: You can't get past the pretensions of the premise. (It's supposedly shot on a cell phone by a blogger, themes include the democratization of art, etc.) Or if you think it's boring to watch people talk.
How to get it: It actually works best if you watch it on a smaller screen.
[Originally posted 1/19/11.]
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