From Woody Allen to Meatloaf, this installment of Weekly Review takes a look at some of the flicks of 2014 that haven’t met much fanfare. I visited John Turturro‘s Fading Gigolo, the SXSW horror movie Stage Fright, last year’s Cannes film The Congress starring Robin Wright, James Gray‘s historical drama The Immigrant and took a trip back in time for Werner Herzog‘s Fitzcarraldo. In theaters, I faced down Chloe Moretz for an interview and squared off against Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and If I Stay, two bad movies, and The November Man, which I’ll have a review of this week. In general, we’ll write this week off as August woes.

Fading Gigolo (2014)

When Woody Allen and John Turturro share a room, Fading Gigolo is a poignant, engaging dramedy with life and a lion’s share of wit. Whilst on their own, Turturro’s directorial project falls short, often coming up with goopy handfuls of sand. Gigolo is certainly better than the obvious comparison of Rob Schneider‘s bottom-feeding Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo but suffers its own rom-com trappings. As the romance ratchets up so does our suspension of disbelief run out of steam. Tender and real, Turturro gives one of his better performances and it’s nothing short of a joy to watch Woody ooze out lines on screen again. Liev Schreiber is quietly impressive as morally upstanding, Hasidic Jew antagonist Dovi but it becomes increasingly harder and harder to buy Vanessa Paradis‘ Avigal. (C+)

Stage Fright (2014)

On an actual stage, Stage Fright would probably work better. Plop it in an off-Broadway theater, fill it with fresh young faces and anchor it with Meatloaf and you might even have a hit. As is, it’s a convoluted mess that never makes a lick of sense. The musical elements – with songs that are more cringe-worthy than catchy – fit awkwardly amongst the gory, backstage murder scenes with long bouts of bloodlessness adding little momentum to the long-winded proceedings. Some of the more ludicrously campy elements do shine through the muck but it can’t make up for the mismatched genres slammed awkwardly together. (D+)

The Congress (2014)

Occasionally touching, always strange and a visual feast in the spirit of The Beatle‘s Yellow Submarine, The Congress is a recklessly ambitious take on the future of Hollywood and mankind. Robin Wright stars as a version of herself who sells her image to Miramount (an almost lame on-the-nose parody) in order to stay relevant. As the film crosses the 45 minute mark, everything turns animated and things tend to get out of director Ari Folman‘s control. There’s a wonderful scene right before the transition in which Harvey Keitel and Wright share a powerful moment of self-reflection and admiration. It’s so full of heart and earnest emotion that it makes the jarring shift to Folman’s wackadoo animation all the more confuzzled. Though much of what occurs in the second act could have been synthesized into a more focused and fluent movement of ideas, the film finishes on an extreme high note. Knowing that the film took seven years to get together and finish, it’s no wonder that some things have jumped the proverbial shark. Even with all its slips and follies, The Congress is an acid trip of a flick, with all the highs and lows that accompany such. (B-)

The Immigrant (2014)

A costume drama that’s proved divisive amongst critics and audience members, James Gray‘s The Immigrant is a dressed-up tale of woe that ultimately disservices the talented actors within. Marion Cotillard is Polish immigrant Ewa, who has arrived on Ellis Island with a sick sister and a bit of a slutty reputation. She’s swoon swept up by a powerful pimp (Joaquin Phoenix) who forces her into prostitution so she can pay for her sister’s care. There are occasionally strong scenes, most of which start and end with Jeremy Renner, but Gray’s morbid fascination leaves little room for his characters to breathe. Ewa is often lifeless, a victim of circumstances who we’re told is more of a siren than we ever are lead to believe and Phoenix’s Bruno never goes through the transformation his final scenes seem to suggest he has. All in all, there are glimmers of good in The Immigrant but they’re largely snuffed out by borderline bad writing and an often boring tempo. (C-)

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Werner Herzog‘s trip to the Peruvian jungle didn’t go as planned. While filming Fitzcarraldo, he lost star Jason Robards to dysentery. Robards replacement, frequent Herzog collaborator Klaus Kinski, was so hated by the local tribesman in the film that they offered to kill him for Herzog. From a production side, Herzog insisted on doing all the heavy lifting – quite literally – without the use of any special effects, leading to many on-job injuries and countless wasted hours. It’s a project where the “Making Of” is entirely more interesting than the final product; an admirable effort in the face of adversity that doesn’t quite come together on its one. Fitzcarraldo just never really sucks the viewer in. Aside from Klaus Kinski’s manic performance, the tale is simple and long-drawn, offering the plight of a would-be rubber baron that never takes the time to really flesh out the themes bubbling under the surface. (B-)

Follow Silver Screen Riot on Facebook
Follow Silver Screen Riot on Twitter