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Mistress
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by Lions Gate/Vestron
Sales Rank: 37825
Price: $14.98
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As sly takes on the monumental effort it takes to hack it in shark-infested Hollywood, films like 'The Player' or 'The Muse' come to mind. 'Mistress' starts with a similar sardonic view of big league moviemaking, it's even funny in parts, but it fizzles and pops into a run-on potpourri of the Artist's mean, mean plight. <br /> <br />A once-sparkling director from NY is strutting his way in LA making culinary videos. His dream script, about a painter who commits suicide in defense of artistic integrity, looks promising. But bit by painful bit, compromise by disillusioning compromise, he sees investors degenerate it into ludicrous pulp. And so forth. <br /> <br />Let me cut to the chase that the film did not: our protagonist soon realizes, surprise surprise, that a movie production is often about everything but the movie itself; loan sharks looking for the swift buck, mistresses and their shiny upkeep, quid pro quos, ulterior agendas. <br /> <br />Despite convincing performances the movie reeks of conflicting impulses of comedy and drama. The ambiguous title should have been a give away. Some truly provocative moments perk you up, then wilt into sappy cliches. <br /> <br />Folks with an above-average interest in cinema could probably sit this film out on a lazy afternoon, if only for cameos from Robert DeNiro, but it's far from the variety one recommends without reservations.
Viewer Reviews
Absolutely on a par with Altman's 'The Player' and the perfect companion piece to 'Living In Oblivion', 'Mistress' is a darkly comic delight from start to finish.
To begin with, the performances alone are worth the price of the DVD and then some. I mean, what a cast! (Even Christopher Walken appears in a memorable cameo.) And all give uniformly superb performances. But Martin Landau stands out, even in this array of top-notch portrayals. He clearly deserved another Oscar nod for his remarkable work in this, which I put right up there with 'Crimes And Misdemeanors' and 'Ed Wood'.
Barry Primus' terrific screenplay (co-written with J.F. Lawton) and his incisive, unobtrusive direction are bang on target, creating a squirmingly honest -- and often hilarious -- portrait of the seedy underbelly Hollywood's independent film scene. Seldom has artistic desperation and compromise seemed so funny or so mercilessly accurate.
Also, the musical score by Galt Macdermot (of 'Hair' fame), and the cinematography by Sven Kirsten are absolutely first-rate.
As I mentioned up front, 'Mistress' would be the perfect companion piece to 'Living In Oblivion' (with marvelous performances by Steve Buscemi and catherine Keener) and would be the ideal first half of a double-bill. 'Mistress' is the definitive statement on the sometimes sordid and always frustrating process of trying to get an independent film financed and into pre-production. And 'Living In Oblivion' is the perfect statement on what often happens when that miracle sometimes occurs and a low-budget indie actually gets made.
'Mistress' is also refreshing in that all the female roles are given the same depth as the male characters and add up to what is simply one of the best ensemble casts I've ever seen in a comedy-drama.
Enjoy!
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Mistress
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