The Longest Week (2014)

And Whit Stillman. And Wes Anderson. No question here who first time director Peter Glanz looks up to and idolizes! He has even copied the whole idea of setting a film in the 60s....but I assume (from the "making of" featurette on the DVD) that he is far, far too young to have even been a small child in the 60s. This isn't nostalgia or history...it is just homage to directors who are 30 years older than himself.If you are going to go to the expense and trouble of setting a film in a specific historical setting, you'd think you would have a POINT to it...it has some link to history of that era....or it references something in your personal life, or that of a relative. Or it's based on a novel or incident from the past. Otherwise, it feels pointless. The director clearly has no real feeling or nostalgia for the past, except for "mod fashions of the 60s". Or maybe it has something to do with the success of "Mad Men", which has done more to make the 60s have a comeback than anything else I know. But "Mad Men" is making a point about how the history of the 60s, is the underpinnings of so many things we think and do today...part of our evolution as a culture. "The Longest Week" has no point. It is utterly trivial.The story is about a useless trust fund brat (Jason Bateman) who is 40ish and suddenly his absent parents cut him off (for no real reason). He has to crash with his best friend, a successful pop artist (Billy Crudup). He meets a beautiful model (Olivia Wilde, a little long in the tooth for a fashion model of the era -- Twiggy was SIXTEEN) and they have a week-long affair while he is displaced from his lavish lifestyle in his parent's luxe hotel suite.That's IT. He "suffers" (stealing money from his friends) for ONE WEEK. This week is so transformative, he grows up (sort of).I don't know a thing about the director, but it made me wonder if he was this same sort of trust fund brat. In the post 2008 economic climate, it is REALLY hard to work up sympathy for some billionaire's spoiled man-child.No surprise this film was shelved for over 2 years before going direct to video, based I am sure solely on the star names. In that time, bit part player Jenny Slate (she plays a blind date of the hero) rose to prominence in the (much better) indie film "Obvious Child"; as a result, she is given TOP BILLING. But she only has a couple of brief scenes.I enjoy 60s nostalgia as much as anyone (I was actually around then!) but this feels as fake and sterile as a display in department store window.It did occur to me watching this...it is clearly set in about 1966 (from the clothes model Beatrice wears). If Conrad Valmont (Bateman) is 40....today, in 2016, he would be...90. That shook me up a bit. It's worth thinking about. Clearly it never crossed the director's mind (i.e., what happened through the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, to these vapid characters).(I would have been interested to see the original B&W short that the director showed at Sundance. Too bad, it is not included on the DVD extras and I can't even find a link to it on Vimeo or anywhere on IMDb.)

I have read many of the reviews for this film as derivative of Woody Allen or Wes Anderson, a mash-up of the two if you will. To me it's weird how films such as this one garner such criticism. One person said how you can't even make a film with a jazz score and not be related to Woody Allen. Perhaps we should move beyond the baying. Conrad Valmont is someone who has never had to take responsibility for his actions until he loses his comfortable roost and gets hit by a truck. It is funny how the director anticipated the films popular reception with critics by the repartee within the film when the characters are discussing a play and the reception by critics of his book. The opening lines of the movie to me are a classic. Here we have a character who knows who he is but for one reason or another continues to make the same mistakes with his life. Continually chasing women around. And yet he seems to be tired of his analyst. In the movie some esoteric terms for conditions get bantered about like Witzelsucht, German for the Joking Sickness. It isn't until Conrad is struck by a bread truck on his vespa does he begin speaking German (for no particular reason at all) does some sort of sense get knocked into him. He fires his therapist, saying how he has given him nothing but bad advice. Discover his Napoleonic complex (there are Napoleon pictures all around his room) that he terms as an egoist and is resolute to change his life by loving others as he loves himself. All of these changes are very subtle. Also there is great satisfaction with the films style and cinematography. This movie doesn't hit you over the head with its message, but change seems possible at any age.

First of all I enjoyed the acting of Bateman and Olivia Wilde. They are both a joy to watch. The story is having it's ups and downs, and the narration is something that I personally like in movies. But the main reason why I would recommend someone to watch this film is the cinematography. Great photographic scenes, depth of field, rule of thirds, low key, minimalist. Fantastic use of all the techniques. If you are a photographer you'll realize what I mean. Although even if you don't have any photography background you'll simply enjoy the view. Hats off to cinematographer Ben Kutchins, great work! Of course it doesn't hurt that Olivia Wild is damn gorgeous...

'THE LONGEST WEEK': Three Stars (Out of Five)Romantic comedy flick starring Jason Bateman, Billy Crudup, Olivia Wilde and Jenny Slate. The cast is billed in reverse order, in the film's opening credits and marketing (for some bizarre reason), giving Slate top billing even though she's barely in it. The movie was directed and co-written (with Juan Iglesias) by first time feature filmmaker Peter Glanz. It tells the story of a spoiled 'man child', who is suddenly cut off from his parents' fortune. He moves in with his best friend and then falls in love with his girlfriend. Considering the talented cast involved, I found the movie to be pretty disappointing.Bateman plays Conrad Valmont; an unemployed writer who constantly tells people he's in the 'gathering stages' of writing a novel. He's almost 40 and is still living off his parents' wealth; having never had a real job of his own. He spends most of his time at his parents' successful Manhattan hotel; sleeping with lots of beautiful young women there. When his parents suddenly separate, they also decide to evict Conrad and cut him off from all their funding. Conrad then moves in with his best (and only) friend Dylan Tate (Crudup). Due to his obsession with pretty women, Conrad finds himself drawn to Dylan's model girlfriend, Beatrice Fairbanks (Wilde). The two begin a passionate affair together, behind Dylan's back.The movie was finished in 2012 and finally released recently, in a small amount of theaters, two years later. After seeing the film, I can see why. It's definitely a miscalculation, and that's putting it pretty nicely. The movie wants to be witty and insightful, but it fails. It often borrows a lot from filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Woody Allen, as well, to no avail. I always enjoy watching Jason Bateman, and he's still pretty amusing here; but ultimately he's wasted. So is all of the rest of the talented cast. The movie has some good ideas, it keeps trying to work out, but it's never very funny or involving. Glanz definitely still has a lot to learn about filmmaking.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5es95jIdgR4