PREVIEW FILM‘
IIIIIIII Body language
Alan Morrison samples the shifting concerns of Bodies, Rest & Motion.
‘A body at rest or in motion will remain in that state unless acted upon by an outside force.‘ states Newton's First Law of Motion. It's true too, believes director Michael Steinberg. of the
rootless twentysomething generation of i the 90s that fortns the central quartet of ’
characters in Bodies, Rest & Motion. ‘We were shooting in Tucson. Arizona.‘ he remembers, ‘and as l was scouting locations. going into the malls and talking to people, it was amazing how many people with college degrees were working in stores until they figured out what they really wanted to do. It‘s unusual for there to be films about middle-class characters — usually it‘s way down the low-end or way up the high-end. What's interesting about these characters is that they‘re not the traditional middle-class. Their problem is they don‘t have the opportunities that the ones who came before them had. They still have those hopes. and we try to tell the truth about them, but I think the generation coming up after them is much more cynical and less hopeful.‘ Bodies. Rest & Motion is one of those independent American movies that
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examines people and places typically left untouched by Hollywood. These are characters who don‘t live on the
film industry's doorstep in New York
or Los Angeles. and who don‘t fit easily into young professional/college
é kid/brat pack categories. They‘ve got
the restlessness of the James Spader and Laura San Giocomo characters in Steven Soderbergh’s sex. lies and videotape or the entire cast of Singles. They‘re like children thrust before they‘re ready into an adult world of relationships and commitments.
TV salesman Nick (Tim Roth) has decided to move to Montana with his girlfriend Beth (Bridget Fonda). who‘s unhappy about leaving behind her best friend and Nick‘s former lover. Carol (Phoebe Cates). When Nick heads off
I alone on a soul-searching trip into the
‘ desert. it's Sid (Eric Stoltz) — a house-
Feb 11 Glasgow 041 3326535
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Bodies, Rest & Motion: ‘Iailtl philosophy on daily lila’
painter who has never left the boundaries of his home town — who jump-starts Beth‘s stalled emotions. His declaration of love is the outside force which disrupts the restful state of her mind and body. forcing her to drive off and confront her own problems by herself.
‘He‘s saying that two people can meet. fall in love like that. and it can be like they were always meant for each other.‘ says Steinberg ofa film that aptly opens around Valentine‘s Day. ‘I have that romantic side too. But I also believe in what Beth does in the film. which is that sometimes you‘ve got to
listen to what your head is telling you
and not your heart. You‘ve got to be responsible for your life and take control. That's what makes the drama:
they’re both true.‘ The film boasts a cult cast in the
Tel 031 317 3202.
EDINBURGH
BfigadOon
Scotland’s Subterranean Text
An inaugural lecture by Professor Colin McArthur
Honorary Professor within the Department of Communication and Information Studies
Tuesday 15th February 5.00 pm
In his inaugural lecture, Professor Colin McArthur will examine the simmering resentment which the film Brigadoon has provoked amongst the Scots since its release in 1954.
Professor McArthur is the former Head of the Distribution Division of the British Film Institute and contributing editor of the seminal Scotch Reels: Scotland in Film and Television.
For more information, phone or write to, the PA to the Principal Queen Margaret College, Clerwood Terrace, Edinburgh EH 1 28TS.
QUEEN MARGARET COLLEGE
making: Tim Roth who. along with Gary Oldman, is the current Bn'tish thesp rave in the States; Phoebe Cates. putting her bobby-soxer image well behind her; Bridget Fonda. taking time out from commercial fare; and Eric Stoltz. Fonda‘s real-life boyfriend and one ofthe film‘s producers.
Unfortunately. their performances in Bodies. Rest & Motion are a little too laid-back for their own good. with more than a touch of drama workshop indulgence. Roger Hedden's script. from his own screenplay. more than makes up for this. however: here is a mild philosophy on daily life, with comic insights which are often deliberately shallow and occasionally cruelly deep. With its searching. disconnected style. Steinberg‘s direction tnirrors the alienation felt by the characters. and alternates between bursts of freedom (desert vistas with unrealistically vibrant sunsets) and confinement (closed interiors with boxed-up belongings). His is not the American mainstream approach.
‘I spentthe 80s in UCLA Film School watching the great European films that had ambiguity and subtlety. which was missing from most of the American films we saw.‘ he explains. ‘lt’s difficult to make a movie like this because people are conditioned to be slammed over the head with sex or violence or loud music. I love films like that. but for the most part. these things are boring me. The more they slam me over the head. the more I‘m falling asleep in theatres.‘
Bodies. Rest & Motion opens at the Glasgow Film Theatre on Fri II and the Edinburgh F iltnhouse on Fri 18.
h-TherList ll—Esz—ebruary 199415