A Slipping-Down Life

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source: A Slipping-Down Life

Though this film is hard to find, it's worth the effort. Lili Taylor gives a delicate and beautiful performance as a troubled and lonely girl slipping directly from childhood to middle age. Guy Pearce plays an aspiring musician who refuses to abandon his vision, but desperately wants to hit the big time. The images of small-town America are dead on, and are some of the most enjoyable parts of the film. The minor roles are absolutely delightful. Irma P. Hall's role as housekeeper is hilarious, as is Bruno Kirby's portrayal of Evie's boss. See this one when you get the chance.

I just saw this on Sundance channel. Although there were some super korny things about it... I loved it. This was also my intro to Guy Pearce. Whoa man! That is why I google'd it why I am here actually. That man is hot and has more stage presence then I've felt in a long time. I also LOVE Lilly. Okay, my two cents. p.s So now this freakin' site is telling me I need to have more lines for this review to post. WTF?? Anyway... let's see if this works...

I really enjoyed this little-known, low key movie. The story is very simple, with little drama or fanfare, it unwinds slowly, and will touch anyone who thought they were invisible or an outcast despairing of ever being loved. Evie Decker is a lonely young woman living with her loving, aloof widower father and Drum Casey is a lonely young man from an abusive, hateful father and apologetic mother, both decidedly lower class and an embarrassment to him. Evie becomes obsessed with Drum, carves his last name into her forehead, and her ardor seduces him - both seek love and find it with each other, although they're an unlikely pair. I really liked it, and Guy Pearce as Drum is beautiful with a seductive, smoky voice and you can see why Evie would fall in love with him. The ending is left to the viewer's imagination. When Evie gives Drum an ultimatum, does he return to her? It's unclear, and purposely so. When they ride off together, is he really in the car, or is he just "with" her in spirit? He mentions on the radio that the band is heading to Nashville, and she's sold the house and packed everything into the car. Either way, is it a happy ending? It's satisfying either way.

This film left me with a special feeling. It wasn't that all the elements came together in the way one would normally expect from a film, they didn't. But the mood and feel of this film is special, real, and different. Both LiLi Taylor and Guy Pearce (who happens to be Austrailian with dead-on southern dialect) do a wonderful job with their characters, as well as many of the supporting cast. As I grew up in a small town in the South in the 70s and 80s, the film actually captured the mood and setting surprisingly well. I do remember what a big deal the local paper and radio were. I remember going to clubs not unlike the ones portrayed in the film. I remember the local popular bands. Anyway, I don't expect that all the films I like to build off the same formula for success. There are a lot of things I'm sure one could criticize this film for, but I'm grateful for this film and for the way it was made - to have corrected some of the flaws would have altered the mood.

Guy Pearce could have a career as a singer based upon what he does in this movie - the vocals he performs as "Drumstrings Casey" are phenomenal - and the always-brilliant Lili Taylor turns in another beautifully realized, multi-layered portrayal as Evie Decker, the film's center. What I liked most was how she wasn't a groupie or a pushover but rather a 3-dimensional person with a strong mind, and I liked how Pearce's character slowly came to realize that he needed her. Ideally, this should have been an overwhelmingly compelling film but it suffers from a weird kind of vagueness, which could have worked for the material but instead it pulls us away from it, so the ending isn't as satisfying as it could have been. Still worth catching on cable nonetheless, for the two brilliant central performances.

Sort of warmed-over grits -- containing every trite character and expression that inhabits "Southern" storytelling down through O'Connor, Welty, Flagg, etc. None of the parts is more than one stereotype after another. Therefore, the viewer is compelled to observe by contrast any small feature that redeems the larger picture. In this instance there is one that stands out: the versatility of actor Guy Pearce playing a weak, indecisive, and mushy musician whose impact lies solely in how he how he takes on an impossible role and somehow brings it to life. How this Australian actor can master such a wide variety of theatrical work is something of a mystery to me. Lacking the "star" quality of such countrymen as Crowe and Gibson, he nevertheless steals every scene of every picture I have seen in which he appears, from "Priscilla" to "L.A. Confidential" to "Memento." Very impressive indeed. Worth watching this otherwise drab film.

"A Slipping Down Life" was originally released at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999, but because of "creative differences" between the producers and the director/actors, it never was released...until now. Lion's Gate Films now owns the distribution rights. The film premieres in NY and LA on May 14th (elsewhere across the United States in late May/early June). I saw the movie last month at the Phoenix Film Festival. Toni Kalem, the director, was present, and she conducted a Q&A session with the audience after the showing. One of the common topics during this discussion was related to the differences between the book and the movie. While I haven't read it, it appeared that the die-hard fans of the book were totally drawn in and satisfied with the movie (and Anne Tyler, herself, gave her "official approval" to Toni Kalem's screen play adaption). Lili Taylor is absolutely brilliant in this movie, and Guy Pearce offers a performance you might not expect. Finally, before heading out to see this, make a point to grab a box of Kleenex - I found myself in tears more than a few times.

This film is an absolute gem. It was filmed in and around Austin, and I didn't even know it until I saw the landscape. Not to mention the cameo of our former mayor Kirk Watson! What can be said about Lili Taylor that hasn't been better said by superior raters? She's simply amazing as Evie. I've read other reviews that claim she was too old for the part and I completely disagree. She brings a clear and clean strength to this role that was absolutely required for the part to shine as it did. She just simply glowed through the movie like a firefly. Guy Pearce made this viewer fall in love with him the way Drumstrings made Evie fall in love. Evie's relationship with her father was warm and touching. Her soul is so strong yet so fragile because of it's capacity to love that at one point I caught myself saying to the screen, "Don't break her heart. Please don't break her heart". This movie is a special treasure.