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DVD review: I feel obligated to review this film. It has sat in my subconscious poking its little face out me for almost ten years--and what a creepy face it is!! When it came out in 1995, Wes Craven said that it was the scariest film he saw the whole year. While I wouldn't call it scary, I would definitely call it unsettling.
Carol White (Julianne Moore) is afflicted with a disease that makes modern living impossible. Carol is not the most sympathetic character. Her days are spent giving orders to the housekeepers, getting her hair done, going to the gym, and talking about nothing with her friends. She nearly has a breakdown when the wrong color couch is delivered to her home. Do we feel sorry for her? Not really. Then, while getting a perm, her nose bleeds. She vomits uncontrollably in an embrace with her husband. When she goes to pick up the dry cleaning, she falls to the floor in seizures.
No one really knows what is wrong with poor Carol, but luckily there's a new age-y retreat in the desert that will help her with her "environmental illness." Renwood, the retreat, promises to help her heal. Unfortunately, it is only a guise for making money and exploiting people's illnesses--imagined or otherwise. Carol eventually is forced into isolation even in this environment.
The film poses questions which it is not willing to answer. Haynes is masterful with his screenplay and his direction. Compositionally, he frames shots with Carol as an unobtrusive afterthought. She is the object in the environment. The color palette in the film is gorgeous and Alex Nepomniaschy should be commended for his excellent camera work and lighting. But the film works mainly due to Julianne Moore. She inhabits this poor creature so well, that even when Carol presents herself in a disfavorable manner, there is still a sense of pity you feel for her.
The DVD is worth it for letterbox--don't waste your time with the VHS--and for the commentary. Haynes, Moore, and Christine Vachon, the producer, laugh and talk about the circumstances surrounding the shoot. They give insight into the dense screenplay, and, most importantly, they give Todd hell about how many sets were relative's houses. If you haven't seen this film--GO RENT IT NOW!! (jeremy.03.05)
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