Cold Souls (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Paul Giamatti stars as himself (basically), tortured over his stage play interpretation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in 'Cold Souls', a dark comedy written & directed by Sophie Barthes. For whatever reason, Paul couldn't get through the already agonizing script of 'Vanya' without stopping, & contemplating his own life. After hearing/reading about 'soul extraction' (within the reality of the film's plot, soul extraction is a huge business), Paul bypasses discussing it with his wife (Emily Watson), & visits the soul removal clinic run by the uber-serious Dr. Flinstein (David Strathairn). After the meeting, Paul agrees to the procedure, but, once it's completed, he finds that his life is - no longer tortured, not happy - but empty. Gee, ya think?
Paul's acting skills desert him. He starts acting strange. He smells different. And he doesn't love his wife much anymore. Furthermore, Paul had only intended on getting rid of his soul temporarily; until his tumultuous stage play performances(s) end. Howwwever, when he returns to Dr. Flinstein to have his soul re-inserted (where it took on the humorous shape of a chickpea), he learns that it had disappeared from its cannister! It seems that a mysterious 'soul mule' (trafficker) named Nina (Dina Korzun) borrowed his chickpea soul, & took it to Russia where it currently lives inside a beautiful, but talentless soap opera star (Katheryn Winnick). You see, she had craved the soul of the great American actor. What is Paul Giamatti to do? Can he get his soul back, & the life he once took for granted?
Something fascinating about this film is the idea that one's soul can be extracted or implanted like any other organ. There's even a soul black market, for God's sake (souls are donated anonymously, exported as commodities, & people can even soul swap!). If someone has the $$ to pay for the operation, & the nerve to do it ('cause they're obviously depressed enough to get rid of it in the first place) ... then they live the rest of their life without a soul.
I respect 'Cold Souls' because it took me somewhere I hadn't expected to go. It ends in a fairly unambitious way. But there's no way to figure out where the movie goes (narratively), & how it will end. And for that alone, I give it praise. The film also does a good job balancing drama & tragedy with absurdity & deadpan humor (I laughed inside my head, a lot). I enjoyed the clever premise, enjoyed getting disoriented with how the film plays out, & I enjoyed the performances (particularly from the wonderfully neurotic Giamatti). It's great to see all these straight-faced actors/characters taking this absurd plotline so seriously, haha.
But my biggest complaint would have to be that the movie is too low-key. It has a minor pulse, & a too-somber tone. I normally don't mind ponderousness, I normally don't mind slow, I normally don't mind morbidity, & I don't mind ambiguity. But this film (especially in the 2nd half) really dragged for me. Furthermore, I think the movie would have benefited from some more exposition btwn. Paul & his wife. I guess I just expected a little more there, and overall. But like I said: interesting movie. It's much better than most so-called "comedies" that get released; better than most movies, in general. There's some morbidity for you.
Paul's acting skills desert him. He starts acting strange. He smells different. And he doesn't love his wife much anymore. Furthermore, Paul had only intended on getting rid of his soul temporarily; until his tumultuous stage play performances(s) end. Howwwever, when he returns to Dr. Flinstein to have his soul re-inserted (where it took on the humorous shape of a chickpea), he learns that it had disappeared from its cannister! It seems that a mysterious 'soul mule' (trafficker) named Nina (Dina Korzun) borrowed his chickpea soul, & took it to Russia where it currently lives inside a beautiful, but talentless soap opera star (Katheryn Winnick). You see, she had craved the soul of the great American actor. What is Paul Giamatti to do? Can he get his soul back, & the life he once took for granted?
Something fascinating about this film is the idea that one's soul can be extracted or implanted like any other organ. There's even a soul black market, for God's sake (souls are donated anonymously, exported as commodities, & people can even soul swap!). If someone has the $$ to pay for the operation, & the nerve to do it ('cause they're obviously depressed enough to get rid of it in the first place) ... then they live the rest of their life without a soul.
I respect 'Cold Souls' because it took me somewhere I hadn't expected to go. It ends in a fairly unambitious way. But there's no way to figure out where the movie goes (narratively), & how it will end. And for that alone, I give it praise. The film also does a good job balancing drama & tragedy with absurdity & deadpan humor (I laughed inside my head, a lot). I enjoyed the clever premise, enjoyed getting disoriented with how the film plays out, & I enjoyed the performances (particularly from the wonderfully neurotic Giamatti). It's great to see all these straight-faced actors/characters taking this absurd plotline so seriously, haha.
But my biggest complaint would have to be that the movie is too low-key. It has a minor pulse, & a too-somber tone. I normally don't mind ponderousness, I normally don't mind slow, I normally don't mind morbidity, & I don't mind ambiguity. But this film (especially in the 2nd half) really dragged for me. Furthermore, I think the movie would have benefited from some more exposition btwn. Paul & his wife. I guess I just expected a little more there, and overall. But like I said: interesting movie. It's much better than most so-called "comedies" that get released; better than most movies, in general. There's some morbidity for you.