Gary Oldman Plays Punk To Classic
If you walk down the aisles of the Lincoln Heights Hastings store, you’re bound to notice a couple of things.
One, the three copies of “Oleanna” seem always to be rented. This is strange, considering the littleknown film, which is based on an obscure David Mamet play, never had a wide theatrical release. Two, “Sid and Nancy” is on the wall with the other “best-renters.”
Mamet-mania is one thing. But, really, placing a 1986 effort by occasional filmmaker Alex Cox (“Repo Man,” “Walker”) on the wall amid brand-new releases, isn’t that a bit much?
Well, no, not when you consider that we’re talking about early Gary Oldman here. The same British actor who plays Beethoven in the justreleased-on-video “Immortal Beloved” (see capsule review below) also portrayed the punk “musician” Sid Vicious.
And coupled with a half dozen other intriguing performances, from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” to “Rozencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (with Tim Roth) and “State of Grace,” “Sid and Nancy” deserves its best-renter status by virtue of being one of Oldman’s best roles.
Having just watched it again, I’m even more critical of the film than I was the first time I saw it (when I gave it 2-1/2 stars). Cox’s often-cutesy style seems more dated and selfreferential as the years pass, and it’s still not clear whether the world needed another study of celebrity self-destruction.
But the two leads, Chloe Webb as Nancy Spungen and Oldman as Sid, are riveting.
“Sid and Nancy” truly is a different kind of romance.
Immortal Beloved
***
This is far from a perfect biography of maestro Ludwig Van Beethoven. It involves the letters that the great German composer wrote to a mysterious lover, the identity of whom has never been revealed - until now, of course. As a romance, it’s a bit too overwrought, and as a history, it’s of doubtful authenticity. Gary Oldman is always fun to watch as the tortured genius and if nothing else, all you have to do is close your eyes and let the music of the Big B wash over you. Talk about an Ode to Joy. Rated R.
Nell
**
In what is little more than an affliction-of-the-week production from prime-time television, this Michael Apted film stars Jodie Foster as a backwoods creature who speaks a language all her own. Liam Neeson is the friendly country doctor who adopts her, and Natasha Richardson is the psychologist who sees her value as a study project. Predictably, it all ends well, with Nell speaking like Shakespeare - with the good doctor’s help - in front of a judge. Rated PG-13.
I.Q.
**
This attempt at romance pits native smarts against higher intelligence, stereotyping the former as decent and vital, the former as stuffy and impotent. That basic cliche aside, it features an entertaining performance by Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein, who tries to set up his brainy-but-inhibited niece (Meg Ryan) with an IQ-challenged gasstation attendant (Tim Robbins). Ryan and Robbins, too, are predictably fun to watch. But little else is. Rated PG.
Beset on all sides
For those of you who are interested, “Pulp Fiction” is scheduled to be released on video Sept. 12.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: What’s new to view Available this weekend: “Bad Company” (Touchstone), “Darkman 2” (MCA/Universal), “I.Q.” (Paramount), “Immortal Beloved” (Columbia TriStar), “Nell” (Fox). Available on Tuesday: “Before Sunrise” (Columbia TriStar), “Boys On the Side” (Warner), “Houseguest” (Touchstone), “Star Trek: Generations” (Paramount), “The Walking Dead” (HBO).