idlewild

THE SYNOPSIS

Idlewild, Georgia. The 1930’s. Welcome to the Church, a snazzy illegal nightclub where the booze flows, the women are hot, gambling’s the game and Rooster (A. Patton) is the singer with attitude. Rooster’s married with 6 children, girlfriends on the side and heir-apparent to run the Church someday.

Then, there’s the quiet, musically-talented Percival (Benjamin)--Rooster’s best friend and piano player, who longs for a different life away from Idlewild and away from the mortician job he performs with his stern father, Percy Snr. (Vereen).

With Prohibition still in high gear, it’s tough to run a speakeasy--that’s why Rooster’s uncle and Church owner Spats (Rhames) is selling his business to big Ace (Love) and retiring. Not so easy, as his sinister lieutenant Trumpy (Howard) has other ideas. Killing Spats and Ace, Trumpy takes over the club and forces everyone to bend to his rule.

Into the club comes the lovely-but-enigmatic singer-star Angel Davenport (P. Patton), who becomes smitten with Percival and they start a relationship. Trouble brews as Trumpy tries to eliminate his enemies--Rooster included and all-out war begins for control.

In the crossfire are Percival, Angel and other innocents. Violence begets violence. But there is redemption and rebirth after the booze stops flowing and the guns go silent.

THE CRITIQUE

IDLEWILD is basically a stylish 2-hour music video featuring the rap/hip-hop/mainstream pop group OutKast mixed in with equal parts Hoodlum (1998) and most MGM musicals--or at least that’s what I got from it.

Starring Andre Benjamin (aka: Andre 3000) and Antwan Patton (aka: Big Boi) in the leading roles, both contribute something to the movie. While Benjamin is not exactly a born actor, he does a decent job as the introspective Percival. Actually better (and only because the role is juicier) is Big Boi, who acts and sings with intention. Kinda reminded me of the roles the late. great Anthony Quinn would portray in his heyday.

Also solid are the supporting cast members with standouts being Terrence Howard (cunning and deadly), Ben Vereen (stern, but caring), the still-lovely Cicely Tyson (poor but proud) and of course, Ving Rhames. Why? Because he’s Ving Rhames...Juliard-trained actor. That’s why!

As helmed by OutKast’s music video director Bryan Barber, the movie exhibits plenty of style, sass and visual dexterity. Barber sure knows where to put his camera--but what occurs between the lines (of the script, that is) is something different. Written by Barber himself, the plotting feels like a blanket that covers the proceedings--yet still manages to keep out any warmth (i.e. feeling, emotion, pathos, etc.).

As far as the entire visual palette, I have to say that the velvety, sepia-toned, widescreen-lensing by French cinema-tographer Pascal Rabaud is top drawer. The lensing does evoke the smokey, booze-drenched 1930’s as we would envision it today.

Also needing mention is the flashy over-editing by veteran cutter Anne Gorsaud (Bram Stoker’s Dracula/The Two Jakes). I liked the editing style, though most times I felt that it was too much--blame must be put on the director.

Other tech credits (elegant production design, snappy soundtrack by OutKast, etc.) are terrific. While set in Georgia, the entire production was in fact shot in North Carolina and California. Just so you know.

What else is there to say? Plenty.

I get the feeling that Barber and company set out to make a Busby Berkley-style musical complete with pizzaz and razzle-dazzle--yet lack the basic understanding of Berkley’s mastery of time (editing) and space (lensing/blocking). Not to be harsh, but when you’re shooting a Prohibition-themed movie, you can’t juxtapose modern-day shooting & editing aesthetics without sacrificing something...like total cohesiveness. Just a thought.

THE BOTTOM LINE

A stylish whirlwind of talent, dance & music that doesn’t completely gel. It’s the kind of movie where you enjoy the production values and soundtrack, but wonder where the script went. Still, nicely done without being fantastic.

CAST: Andre Benjamin, Antwan A. Patton, Paula Patton, Terrence Howard, Faizon Love, Malinda Williams, Cicely Tyson, Macy Gray & Ben Vereen

CREDITS: Director/Screenwriter: Bryan Barber; Producers: Charles Roven & Robert Guralnick; Director of Photography: Pascal Rabaud; Production Designer: Charles Breen; Editor: Anne Goursaud; Costume Designer: Shawn Barton; Music: John Debney

AC/AL/V 2006 120m ENGLISH