The American musical has suffered greatly over the last few decades, something attributable (at least in my opinion) to the rise and reign of MTV. Now, because of our video-thinned attention spans, no one seems willing to tolerate hours of interconnected song without a remote control. Even with a Best Picture win for Chicago four years ago, one I continue to feel was undeserved, musical cinema isn’t what it used to be. Not even OutKast can ressurect the heyday of Kelly, Astaire and Rogers.
Directed by Bryan Barber, Idlewild is built on a great soundtrack by OutKast (the anachronisms didn’t bother me one bit) and some incredible choreography by Hinton Battle, all contained perfectly by Pascal Rabaud’s cinematography. But the casting is backwards; stars Andre Benjamin and Big Boi are noticeable acting amateurs, and their inexperience shows. At the same time, great performers like Cicely Tyson and Ben Vereen are given barely anything worthwhile. Too much focus and responsibility is given to Macy Gray, while Patti LaBelle, portraying a famed and uptight songstress, isn’t given a single song.
While many may dismiss the film for its quirks—a talking flask, a magic Bible, a choir of cuckoo clocks—others may find them refreshing. When the story becomes inevitably dull and all your favorite characters, for one reason or another, disappear, you can marvel at how the filmmakers embrace imagination in a film that has very little.
by Adam Balz | Source: 35MM Theatrical Print
26 Aug 2006 10:04 PM | Submit Comment