Relationships and other disasters
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Relationships and other disasters |
| Original title | The Anniversary Party |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2001 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Alan Cumming , Jennifer Jason Leigh |
| script |
Jennifer Jason Leigh , Alan Cumming |
| production |
Jennifer Jason Leigh , Alan Cumming , Joanne Sellar Andrew Hurwitz |
| music | Michael Penn |
| camera | John Bailey |
| cut |
Carol Littleton , Suzanne Spangler |
| occupation | |
| |
Relationships and Other Disasters is a 2001 joint film directed by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming . It is about filmmakers at a party that gets out of hand over the course of one night.
action
British writer Joe and American actress Sally have been married for a number of years. Joe's career is quite successful, he can now film a rather autobiographical novel, he can even decide on the cast. Sally's engagements, on the other hand, have become rarer, and so she's hoping for the lead role in Joe's film, a character who seems to be closely related to her person. The two want to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary with some friends at home. The little party takes place in their spacious, chic bungalow with garden and swimming pool in Los Angeles. The film begins with the two of them waking up, with phone calls, yoga and the preparations for the evening meeting.
Little by little, the guests arrive: befriended couples with and without children, a former love of Joe, Sally's best friend, the misanthropic neighbors, and the young actress Joe would like to cast as the main role instead of Sally.
Society plays charades, everyone is talking, first embarrassing moments arise, e.g. B. when the unloved neighbors arrive just as the hostess's best friend is pulling them through the cocoa. Later in the hour, after drinking some alcohol, the first unpleasant truths come on the table, the entertainment carousel spins, performances are performed and serenades are performed in honor of the anniversary couple.
When the starlet pulls some ecstasy pills out of his pocket, some of them grab it. The swimming pool becomes the center, the successful and not so successful guests drop their masks as well as their covers and gain depth. Some more or less existential conversations about professional future and private relationships are held, someone leaves the garden gate open, the dog escapes. While looking for him, Sally confesses to her husband Joe that she aborted a child of his without his knowledge. After her last crisis, when he left her for a few months, she wasn't sure of himself (and hers) enough. He doesn't take the confession lightly.
Back at the house, it is now early in the morning, it gets even worse: A call comes in from Joe's father, with the message that Joe's sister, who has long been emotionally unstable, has committed suicide. The mood of the party guests sinks towards zero, but overnight a close knit community has formed, so that everyone is hesitant to say goodbye. The film then ends as it began: with a picture of the couple in bed, he asleep, she brooding.
background
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming not only starred in the film, they also wrote, produced, and directed the film together. Almost all of the actors in the film come from their circle of friends and acquaintances. Some of the roles are tailor-made for the actors, such as: B. the role of photographer for Jennifer Beals , who also likes to take photos privately and, as in the film, gives away photos. Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline are also married in real life; the two children of the two in the film are their own children. The dog in the film is actually Jason Leigh's dog, the yoga teacher at the beginning of the film is actually Cumming and Jason Leigh's yoga teacher. The house where the film was filmed belongs to Sofia Coppola .
camera
Relationships and other disasters were filmed with digital cameras. A comparison with Das Fest by Thomas Vinterberg is therefore not too far off, which is also about a party that does not go as planned. The use of the camera (unlike dogma films), however, happens more as if it were a film camera, calmly with not too much typical handheld movement. In the end, the picture lacks the depth and saturation of film, but the spontaneity of the cramped events is conveyed successfully, and with a shooting time of only four weeks it would have been difficult to work with film cameras, which require more extensive preparatory work for the scenes. The images of the cameraman John Bailey are not only far from what one normally expects from digital video because of the calm camera movement , he also manages to get a rather "creamy" texture instead of the usual "grainy inaccuracy" of digital recordings .
Reviews
Opinions on the film praise how new directors Leigh and Cummings manage to let a whole range of top-class actors shine in smaller and larger professional and emotional entanglements. There was some criticism for the last part of the film, in which events pile up and the emotions perhaps boil a little too boldly:
" Exposing the misery and instability lurking beneath the shimmering surface of Hollywood is virtually as old a ploy as the movies. However, Cumming and Leigh, who also co-wrote and co-directed, bring to their stylish, incisive and compassionate film an immediacy and a bracing snap. "
“ The film has an enjoyable voyeuristic quality derived from being able to witness many of these celebrated actors play what seems to be themselves. Of course, they are not playing themselves, but considering that the parts were written with each actor in mind and that the directors allow every member of the ensemble to bring their characters to life, this movie feels a lot like a privileged peek into Hollywood's private lives. "
" By all rights, the final result should be a self-indulgent mess - and, in truth, the final third of the film comes close. But until Leigh and Cumming let their actorly urge for high drama blunt their flair for bracing wit and subtle feeling, they turn what could have been an acting stunt into an intimate and compelling study of bruised emotions. "
Awards
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming were in 2002 in the categories Best directorial debut and Best Screenplay debut for the Independent Spirit Award nomination. John C. Reilly received the third Independent Spirit Award nomination for his performance.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fanpage for Jennifer Beals ( Memento of March 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Archived version of the original
- ↑ Kirsten Markson on Pop Matters ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Review by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times
- ↑ cf. see: Stephanie Zacharek on Salon.com
- ↑ http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie010607-5,0,6600556.story
- ↑ http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000696760
Web links
- The Anniversary Party in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Anniversary Party at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- The Anniversary Party at Metacritic (English)
- Review by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times