Laurel Canyon Movie Review:


Synopsis:

Uptight Sam (Bale) takes his equally conservative new wife (Beckinsale) to visit his mother, a free-spirited record producer living in the hills of LA. Conflict seems likely – yet the result (the drugs, the toyboy guitarist, the threesome in the pool …) exceeds pretty much every expectation, and alters all their relationships forever.

Has Frances McDormand ever given a bad performance? Laurel Canyon, once again shows the versatility of one of the great female American actors.

Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale play a couple that go to stay with his record producer mother, played by McDormand. Their worlds are completely different with Bale and Beckinsale, being uptight and repressed, while McDormand and the rock band staying at the house are laid back, like a bit of dope and are free spirits.

The story centres on the differences between their two worlds, with all parties running away from something. There is very little plot to the story instead being a character piece with lots of humour throughout.

The movie hangs on the performances, with McDormand’s tripped out record producer being very Patti Smith/Sheryl Crow and is a joy to watch. Kate Beckinsale is not, it’s the journey her character takes as she goes from being a bookish genetics researcher to drug user that should be the core of the movie, but because her performance is wooden the change in her character and just why she changes is never that convincing.

Natasha McElhone plays a Jewish doctor, and her accent is woeful, until they said she was Jewish I was convinced her accent was Russian, there was also no reason for her character to be Jewish, so why make the part more complicated for the actress as it was unnecessary.

Yes, it’s a funny movie, with a great performance by McDormand, but it’s not an essential movie, as the other performances drag it down to just being an OK movie.

Gary Gray

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