Scan and Pan
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Bug
Agnes (Ashley Judd) lives in a seedy motel in rural Oklahoma and works as a cocktail waitress at a roadhouse that caters to lesbians. When the film begins, she's living in fear that her abusive ex-husband Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.) will find her now that he's been released from prison. One night, her lesbian biker friend R.C. (Lynn Collins) introduces her to a shy drifter named Peter (Michael Shannon), who soon becomes Agnes' lover. When Peter wakes up one night to find bug bites on his body, he's convinced that the room is infested with bugs coming from inside his body.
Screenwriter Tracy Letts faithfully adapts his own stage play and early on it looks like it could turn into an interesting film, but it's never able to escape its stage origins. It's slightly over an hour and a half of people mostly talking. Worse, the motivations of some of the characters seem to change at whim, so it's hard to believe what they're doing. It's not so bad in the first two acts thanks to the quality acting, but the third act makes it impossible to continue suspending one's disbelief. Veteran director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) keeps it from feeling too stagey through good use of camera movements that open things up, but sadly it's a disappointing effort from a filmmaker whose best days are well behind him.
Cinematographer Michael Grady (Factory Girl) keeps the film visually interesting, using lighting to signify changes in time and to reflect the psychological states of the characters. Production designer Franco-Giacomo Carbone (Cabin Fever, Rocky Balboa) really only has one set to work with, but he turns it into a realistic place that takes on an increasingly disturbed quality as the story progresses.
Judd delivers a strong performance, even if the script doesn't always make her actions believable, grabbing hold of her character and not letting go until the third act, when her performance jumps the tracks along with the rest of the film. Shannon, who originated his role on stage, is compelling as the shy drifter who may be dangerously delusional, and his outbursts are frightening in their sudden intensity. Connick is excellent as a charming but abusive ex-con, making us believe that Agnes would have fallen for him in the first place and that she would now be terrified of him. Collins is also good as R.C. and, truth be told, there's far more chemistry between Judd and Collins than between Judd and Shannon. Irish actor Brian F. O'Byrne has a bizarre turn as Peter's doctor, but the problem is how the character is written than O'Byrne himself.
One suspects that Lionsgate used a deceptive marketing campaign because that was the only way they were going to get an audience for a filmed version of an off-Broadway play that's not scary, not psychologically or philosophically deep, and which leaves one not quite sure of what the point was. Not recommended.
[1.5 out of 5 stars]
Marketed as a disturbing horror film, Bug is actually a psychological drama. However, it's not a particularly good one. It's too talky by far and it turns ridiculous in the third act. Good performances by its cast aren't enough to overcome its numerous flaws.
Agnes (Ashley Judd) lives in a seedy motel in rural Oklahoma and works as a cocktail waitress at a roadhouse that caters to lesbians. When the film begins, she's living in fear that her abusive ex-husband Jerry (Harry Connick, Jr.) will find her now that he's been released from prison. One night, her lesbian biker friend R.C. (Lynn Collins) introduces her to a shy drifter named Peter (Michael Shannon), who soon becomes Agnes' lover. When Peter wakes up one night to find bug bites on his body, he's convinced that the room is infested with bugs coming from inside his body.
Screenwriter Tracy Letts faithfully adapts his own stage play and early on it looks like it could turn into an interesting film, but it's never able to escape its stage origins. It's slightly over an hour and a half of people mostly talking. Worse, the motivations of some of the characters seem to change at whim, so it's hard to believe what they're doing. It's not so bad in the first two acts thanks to the quality acting, but the third act makes it impossible to continue suspending one's disbelief. Veteran director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) keeps it from feeling too stagey through good use of camera movements that open things up, but sadly it's a disappointing effort from a filmmaker whose best days are well behind him.
Cinematographer Michael Grady (Factory Girl) keeps the film visually interesting, using lighting to signify changes in time and to reflect the psychological states of the characters. Production designer Franco-Giacomo Carbone (Cabin Fever, Rocky Balboa) really only has one set to work with, but he turns it into a realistic place that takes on an increasingly disturbed quality as the story progresses.
Judd delivers a strong performance, even if the script doesn't always make her actions believable, grabbing hold of her character and not letting go until the third act, when her performance jumps the tracks along with the rest of the film. Shannon, who originated his role on stage, is compelling as the shy drifter who may be dangerously delusional, and his outbursts are frightening in their sudden intensity. Connick is excellent as a charming but abusive ex-con, making us believe that Agnes would have fallen for him in the first place and that she would now be terrified of him. Collins is also good as R.C. and, truth be told, there's far more chemistry between Judd and Collins than between Judd and Shannon. Irish actor Brian F. O'Byrne has a bizarre turn as Peter's doctor, but the problem is how the character is written than O'Byrne himself.
One suspects that Lionsgate used a deceptive marketing campaign because that was the only way they were going to get an audience for a filmed version of an off-Broadway play that's not scary, not psychologically or philosophically deep, and which leaves one not quite sure of what the point was. Not recommended.
[1.5 out of 5 stars]
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