John Cannon (Kansas City, MO 64109)

I think it's safe to say this movie is unpretentious. The overacting was subtle enough that it seemed genuine. It did have a plot, or, more accurately, a narrative, replete with flashbacks. The characters ended up being fairly well-developed, in spite of its mocumentaric genre. I noticed that costuming was done by the actors...impressive. They could have easily overdone it. Although hardly a summer, big money launch type of film, it does have its place in the continuum from some of Waters' work all the way to a big money project. All the people involved need to be commended for what was, no doubt, a lot of time and effort. I mean it's no 'Citizen Kane,' but it does have a certain social value and it might have its place in showing it to teenages in the affluent suburbs. There is a lightness-of-being about it because there is neither undue rage about class issues or puritanism about sex workers. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film.

The female protagonist is certainly no Helen Mirren. The dialogue offers no sizzle and brings down what are some good plot twists. The theme of "alchemy" is very cheesy when one thinks how mysticism could be enlivened by the plot/action. The The ascot-ed German was way overplayed and he was a walking/talking stereotype. All this aside, given the proper cinematography (and much better actors), this could be a better than average example of the action/adventure genre. Has the author ever thought of introducing some humor into the mix? It might be a good counterpoint to what I had alluded to, the heightening of the mystical thread that is only done in a superficial, banal sort of way.

I'm no critic so I must apologize for what seems like a characteristic bitchiness. The pacing was good, but the scenes, if done with the full treatment, would be way too short, which made for characters that seemed like slaves to the plot and wretched dialogue. They needed some elongation; I couldn't quite imagine them as three dimensional.

So, all this pettiness aside. I offer some pretty damning views. I do think this project has some potential worth pursuing; the author knows how to write a tight, fast-moving plot and the people who've worked on this probably labored many hours. I hope it pays off...