The Violinist

Author(s): Alex S. (Mexico)
The Violinist

Written & Directed by Andrew Dominik
Produced by Ridley Scott & JoAnne Sellar
Executive Producers Tony Scott & Brad Grey
Edited By Dylan Tychenor, A.C.E
Cinematography by Roger Deakins, A.S.C
Music by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Costume Design by Louise Frogley
Production Design by Jack Fisk
Set Decoration by David Crant
Art Direction by Crispian Sallis & Jim Erickson

Tagline: "There's beauty to be found in madness"

Cast:

Arhtur Hackett – Lee Pace
Matilda Parrish – Melora Walters
Vanora Parrish – Rosemary Harris
Maxwell Parrish – Tom Sturridge
Amelia Baxter – Rosamund Pike
Jocelyn Davenport – Jennifer Carpenter
Alana Carrington – Sienna Miller
Edgar Dunton – Richard Griffiths

Synopsis:

A lot can happen in one day; in fact a lot can happen in mere minutes, one instant, one moment, can change someone's life forever. This is that moment.

Arthur Hackett was what you would call a frustrated artist, bred by a family of musicians, and being unable to excel in anything related he resorted to the administrative side of the artistic, management.

In the attempt of success, Hackett would never forget the day he met that little kid, little Maxie was 11 years old at the time and frankly Hackett didn't knew if a rush of excitement was going through him or a rush of envy.

Matilda Parrish was probably the poster child for unstable women, losing her father at a very young age scarred her for life and an overbearing mother didn't help either. When she got pregnant she thought her life would actually become different but instead it defined her instability even more.

Years later we found ourselves in a familiar scenery, Paris. Maxwell Parrish had become a celebrated violinist; giving concerts since he was 12 years old he was famous for his uncontrolled and fierce behavior on stage. However offstage he had proven to be quiet and even shy, very controlled and prudent, an elegant young man whose personality amazed every person he met.

This night however would change everything. Maxwell is playing a very special concert filled with celebrity guests, an orchestra conducted by maestro Edgar Dunton and a performance by famous cellist Alana Carrington. The night would be anything but perfect though. Maxwell hasn't left his hotel room since he arrived to the city, and people has commented about his erratic behavior lately, radical changes of mood and attacks of hysteria are rumored, his publicist Amelia Baxter, answers every doubt with the cold demeanor she's known for and Hackett known for his sleazy personality and control over his clients, in an attempt for calming the media offers one interview before the concert. What seems to be a very naïve and harmless reporter is in charge with it, little does Hackett knows of Davenport's real character.

Maxwell doesn't really understands what's happening to him, he sees and feels things that are not there, at least no to him, stuck in his own mind everything around him seems different, in a way clearer, he now sees how his life has changed and has been managed against his own wishes and desires, he's losing control of his own life and a grip to reality, everything is blurry now, the lies and deception of Arthur or the way he's been the only father figure he's had; he's unreliable, pill popping and neurotic mother or the woman who has always loved him unconditionally, his family. He finds himself alone right now with only the company of his controlling grandmother in a hotel room, she stand there yelling at him reprehending and medicating him, he's taking all this pills for something he doesn't even understands, nothing in his mind makes sense anymore.

Matilda can't define if its fear or denial what's keeping her away from her son, take one, take two, this isn't working anymore, the feeling doesn't goes away, the lighting of this restaurant is really disturbing her and talking with this girl Jocelyn for so long is annoying her, why is she so curious and why does she has that smile on her face, she keeps wondering where is Arthur, why is he talking to all these people instead of her.

Two hours left before the big moment, Maxwell just wants to stand up in that stage where everything works perfectly, where everything is fine.

What the press would say:

The Violinist, the new picture by the director of "The Assassination of Jesse James…" comes out of nowhere if you expected a similar piece as a follow up, yet he maintains a very particular approach to characters, is the kind of picture that isn't afraid to put its characters under a microscope, and it knows that studying their psychology is far more rewarding to the spectator.

The Violinist offers a very special charm, It is a throwback to another time when films were allowed to be unhurried, when audiences trusted multiple story lines to converge organically, and time and place were evoked with consummate craft. The old is new again, and it has never looked so breathtaking. As "Jesse James…", The Violinist makes use of extensive voice-over narration that not only describes events but also comments on the characters and their actions. The film focuses on three main storylines, while delving in the past of each of the characters, the firs is about the quivering, sycophantic leech grasping for greatness Arthur Hackett as he deals with the media frenzy and the sanity if his own client, he also faces his own responsibility and his abuse. The second one is about Matilda filled with sniveling inferiority and mumbled cadence, as she reveals accidentally everything about her son's life to a conniving journalist. And finally, the one about the violinist, as he slowly loses control of himself and his life while dealing with her villainous and abusive grandmother.

The film slowly changes focus from character to character as they walk through the hotel corridors and rooms, filled with long takes and constant music throughout the film, the film's tone begins to unravel scalding intensity, a studied film that is surprisingly engrossing, not to mention so handsomely made you can hardly take your eyes off it.

Performances are amazing, Lee Pace playing Arthur Hackett loses himself in this very subjective man, he plays with his emotions in a way that's hard to determine if he's good or bad, his actions are opened to interpretations and at the conclusion the question goes even deeper. Melora Walters borders in exaggeration but from time to time becomes extremely subtle in his delivery, her mother figure reminds a very person who has found themselves in a situation when you feel helpless and weak in trying to help your children, she offers this with boldness and magnificent intensity. The newcomer Tom Sturridge takes us on a trip to the mysterious border-crossing between rarified brilliance and madness, his versatility that ranges from quietness to explosiveness is a treat to watch and the scenes where he plays the violin are intense you feel the music inside you. Rosemary Harris takes an uncomfortable role for her but excels at it, a nice looking villain that impresses with her passive aggressiveness; Jennifer Carpenter displays an amazingly controlled and refined performance that particularly shines in an interview with Sturridge where he's losing control and she pushes the right buttons to make him tick and Sienna Miller in a very brief performance shines in one particular long scene the two musicians rehearse, in this part the story relies more in facial and corporal expressions than in dialogue and she succeeds in portraying what the violinist longs for every time he stand in the stage.

Dominik knows that life's randomness can also produce hope, humor and love. And it shows that in ways that more calculated feel good movies can't fathom. What Dominik lacks in substance is offset by his great skill with actors, his gift for shaping resonant little individual vignettes and his extraordinary intuition, his writing and directing in this explores furthermore the promise he has shown as a storyteller.

The extraordinary expressive performers, male and female; the haunting interior and exterior conflicts; the painstaking attention to detail; the intense and palpitating score; and the subtly modulated mood shifts all combine to make a modern masterpiece an epic film that's part literary treatise, part mournful ballad, and completely a portrait of our world, as seen in a distant mirror. A psychological chamber drama that attempts to explore the madness of men, the film moves at an absorbing pace and -- in the rarest of qualities – allows the bulk of its sentimentality to emerge honestly.

For Your Consideration

Best Picture
Best Director – Andrew Dominik
Best Actor – Lee Pace
Best Actress – Melora Walters
Best Supporting Actor – Tom Sturridge
Best Supporting Actress – Rosemary Harris
Best Supporting Actress – Sienna Miller
Best Supporting Actress – Jennifer Carpenter
Best Original Screenplay – Andrew Dominik