The most original story of the year...
This is a wonderfully bizarre movie which
features a David Lynch-like plot and some dark
humor that will have you laughing and scratching
your head at the same time. This was a small
2003 release that ranks as one of the most
pleasant surprises of the year. You should
definitely try to seek it out on video or DVD.
Jon Favreau has one of those faces that makes
you giggle the moment it appears on screen. That
anticipation of laughs is based on some great
comedic roles he has had in recent years. Most
notably, he was wonderful in 'Swingers' and in
'Love and Sex'.
In this film, Favreau plays a struggling actor
who is way behind on bills and in debt for over
$27,000. His strange neighbor presents him with
a bizarre offer to earn enough money to clear
his debt. If he delivers a blue suitcase, whose
contents must remain a secret, to Baker,
California, to a man named 'Cowboy', he will be
paid $25,000.
After minimal hesitation, he decides that he has
no other choice but to complete this bizarre
task. What he doesn't yet realize is how much
more bizarre this job is about to get. Upon
arrival in Baker, CA, he meets tons of bizarre
characters that seem to all belong in a David
Lynch movie. There is the intrusive motel
manager, the slutty teen girl who drinks too
much (Cook), the sexy bartender mom (Hannah),
the mysterious 'Cowboy' (Bean) and the friendly
hooker (Walters). He thinks he's stepped into
the twilight zone. Adding to these oddballs, he
finds himself in possession of a bowling ball
bag which he believes contains the head of his
recently murdered neighbor, and he is stalked by
the ex-boyfriend of the slutty teen girl.
When he finally meets the mysterious 'Cowboy',
there are further bizarre tasks to be fulfilled
before he can claim his money. This all leads
him to a desert oasis in the middle of the night
where this odd journey ventures into the utterly
surreal.
Filled with symbolic imagery and
non-coincidental repetition of numbers, this
movie will have you thinking and laughing and
wondering for days. I am still not entirely sure
what the point of the film is... but I know I
liked it for some reason or another. 'The Big
Empty' is a must see at least once in your
life... there aren't too many films like it.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
Originality,
in the wrong hands, is a bad thing. Enough said.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
N/A
