Picture This! Reviews Silver City

Reprinted from NotesFromHollywood.com

“Truth is stranger than fiction” may be a tried and true adage, yet truth has rarely been touted as more entertaining than fiction – until now. Independent filmmaker John Sayles chose a political backdrop for Silver City his latest release.

In these turbulent times when Halliburton is a household word it’s hardly a unique concept to grasp a big business executive (Kris Kristofferson) having a candidate (Chris Cooper) in his back pocket. An attractive reporter (Maria Bello) asks some tough questions of the candidate who in turn stammers and stutters canned replies. But the proverbial thorn in this fictional election is the questioning former reporter, turned investigator (Danny Huston). Do the names Ken Lay, George W. and Michael Moore come to mind? (Alas, the press is so wishy washy right now I couldn’t come up with an attractive reporter – male or female.)

There are hosts of other characters that bop in and out of the Silver City campaign. Some familiar, talented faces lend an air of legitimacy to the credits – Mary Kay Place, Richard Dreyfuss, Miguel Ferrer, Michael Murphy – to name a few. Unfortunately, they can’t single handedly or collectively make this picture interesting.

Sayles has the ability to put it all together cinematically (Matewan and The Brother From Another Planet), but his insistence on directing, writing, and editing proves too much in Silver City. It’s just too, too long, something an independent editor might have remedied.

No, if you want to be entertained with political shenanigans, turn on any network at dinnertime and see the real players raise the stakes in the ongoing drama of life and death in 2004. Or better yet, tune in The Daily Show on Comedy Central – which proves on a regular basis that truth can be entertaining.
Rebecca Redshaw is the Arts& Entertainment Critic for www.NotesFromHollywood.com. She can be reached at r2redshaw@hotmail.com.