Film review
Rub-a-dub dud: Louis Garrel (right) plays the stereotypically bitter young French man Theo; Eva Green (middle) plays his spunky sister Isabelle; and Michael Pitt (left) plays the beleaguered, puppy-faced American student Matthew in Bernardo Bertolucci's disappointing film "The Dreamers." Despite its NC-17 rating, the film shows nothing that we haven't seen in R-rated films.
The Dreamers
Bernardo Bertolucci's disappointing film "The Dreamers" opens several possibilities but fulfills none of them.
The angst-ridden young characters' discussion of politics and philosophy doesn't rise much (if any) above that overheard at a typical Starbucks.
The creepily dysfunctional, quasi-sexual bond between a brother and sister with matching tattoos was done much better in HBO's series "Six Feet Under."
"The Dreamers" doesn't even fulfill the promise of being softcore porn, as its NC-17 rating suggests that it is. It shows no more nudity or sexual activity than I've seen in an R-rated film, so its NC-17 rating baffles me.
Nor does the film actually deliver on what its ads suggest will be depictions of gay or bisexual sex, incestual sex or even a three-way. It only teases us and portrays only heterosexual sex between two people (yaaaaaawn) -- and even then they use the missionary position.
(For those who really want to know, we see a lot of the French sister Isabelle [played by Eva Green] nude; my gay friend Estevan, who sat next to me during the movie, groaned frequently. There is one prolonged shot of the American student Matthew's [Michael Pitt's] flaccid but substantial family jewels, and we get only glimpses of the French brother Theo's [Louis Garrel's] goods, over which Estevan and I both were bitterly disappointed. In the scenes in which Theo masturbates to orgasm in front of Matthew and Isabelle and Isabelle and Matthew have intercourse, we see no erection and no penetration. If you want to see porn, you'll have to go get yourself some porn.)
Oh, yeah, the plot: "The Dreamers" is about a spoiled French brother and sister who mess with the heart and mind and penis of an American student (well, as I indicated, only the sister messes with his penis) who is living in Paris in 1968, avoiding, like "President" Bush, having to fight in the Vietnam War. The American student spends most of his time watching old movies at a movie theater, where he meets the brother and sister, who suck him into their sick relationship. While the brother and sister's parents are away, the three play mind and sex games while civil unrest unfolds in the streets below them. There isn't much more to tell than that.
"The Dreamers" has a few good scenes, such as the scene in which Matthew finally confronts Theo and Isabelle about their dysfunctional relationship and how they abuse him to make themselves feel better about it.
The three young actors turn in good performances, but with an unfocused script, which includes a disappointing ending, their efforts don't add up to much -- not even to good softcore porn.
About all I left the theater with was the question in my mind: Is every young French man sullen and irritable?
My grade: C+
10:28:03 AM 
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