|
|
|
Boarding
Gate
(2007)
 
Writer/director Olivier Assayas, who received
notoriety and acclaim for such films as Irma Vep and Clean, strikes
out with this failed attempt at a sexy international crime
thriller and character study. Boarding Gate purports
itself as all of the above, but contains too little of each
to work as a coherent film. While the
plot is full of betrayals, the largest
and most hearltess is Assayas's betrayal
of the audience by putting forth such a boring
and half-assed film.
After a session of rough sex between ex-prostitute
Sandra (Asia Argento) and a former lover
(Michael Madsen) turns violent, she is forced
to flee London for Hong Kong. Promised
papers and money to go into hiding, Sandra
soon finds that her supposeded benefactors
(Carl Ng & Kelly Lin) might not have her
best interests at heart and there seems no
escape from the sordid web of manipulation
she is now caught in.
Sounds fun, right? It's not.
There's not very much about this film worth the celluloid it
uses to convey it's tawdry overindulgent plot. Everyone
seems to be going through the motions, and barely so at that. Direction,
performances, they're all phoned in, hoping that the genre
conventions will be enough to entice audiences to see a half-naked
Argento whoring herself out for a little naughty suspense. Sadly,
there's neither enough crime-thriller action here or naked
women. It's neither the erotic drama nor the post-noir
crime picture it pretends to be.
Argento and Madsen, easily the film's largest stars, should
be ashamed to include Boarding Gate on their respective
resumes. Madsen has come a long way (downhill) since compelling
and memorable performances in films such as Reservoir Dogs and
Donnie Brasco but luckily he's clocking in half a
dozen movies a year, so some are bound to be worthless like
this one. Argento, however, doesn't have the same success when
it comes to either picking projects or putting forth good performances.
Whether it's her supporting role in the recent disaster that
was Marie Antoinette or her self-directed excuse to
be pretentiously naked for an entire film, Scarlet Diva,
it's clear to me that she doesn't have the same artistic knack
as did her father Dario (of Opera and Suspiria fame). I
could almost forgive her for her terrible performance if she
would have been able to live up to the poster and trailer of
the film, which put forth much more of her exhibitionism than
is actually contained in Boarding Gate itself.
Must admit, I did enjoy the Eno-heavy soundtrack which serves
as the film's score. I mean, really, how
could a film called Boarding Gate not have at least
one track from the ambient Music for Airports album? Along
with the end credits song, The Sparks' Number One Song in
Heaven, the music of the film is definitely the best part
of an otherwise forgettable movie. Even with this soundtrack,
though, it's likely I will not remember Boarding Gate much
past the time I finish this review.
If I haven't been clear enough yet, let me be more blunt: Boarding
Gate is not a good movie, both for it's lack of vision
and technical mediocrity. No matter how boring you are,
and how little you may have on your calendar, you've certainly
got a much better use of an hour and a half than this film will
provide. I know I did and I regret not doing them instead. Boarding
Gate is simply not worth the time.
-Mark
Moreland
|
|
|
|
All contents ©
2004-2007 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
|
|
 |
Director:
Olivier
Assayas
Writer: Olivier
Assayas
Starring: Daria
Argento, Michael Madsen, Carl Ng, Kelly Lin, Alex Descas, Kim Gordon,
Joana Preiss
Distributor: Magnolia
Pictures
Runtime: 102
min
Rating: R
Release Date: March
21, 2008
|
|
 |
|
