Just saw this at the Sydney Film Festival.
From what I've already read, director Sophie Barthes was inspired to write this by a dream. She is also reportedly tired of comparisons to Kaufman's films. What does she expect? If you crossed Being John Malkovich with Eternal Sunshine and added a sprinkle of Zach Helm's screenplay for Stranger Than Fiction you would probably end up with Cold Souls.
Barthes dream must have been a great one as the concept for the story sucks you right in. Without going too much into the details, it involves a tired and stressed actor (Giamatti) who discovers a 'soul storage' company who specialise in extracting souls.
Giamatti ums and ahs about the procedure before signing his life away, or soul away, as it may be. Needless to say, things don't work out as planned and pretty soon his wife notices his weird behaviour and there are Russians also involved in illegal trafficking of human souls.
Anyone who enjoyed Giamatti in American Splendour and Sideways should enjoy this. Carrying the film virtually on his own, he does a brilliant job as the angst ridden actor in desperate search for his soul. Emily Watson and David Strathairn do well in small support roles. Dina Korzun is also very good as the sad Russian 'mule' who swaps peoples souls for short periods to traffic them to and from the States and Russia. Unfortunately her character is never fully fleshed out which is a real shame and therein lies the problem with the screenplay. Even with Giamatti working his arse off, he ultimately can only do so much with the material. I agree with other viewers who have posted that the story is uneven and Barthes doesn't get the middle or the ending right. It's choppy and not thought out enough.
I found the film entertaining but certainly wasn't moved by it. As mentioned, the idea is a good one but I was somewhat disappointed that Barthes didn't fully explore the themes and make this as interesting as it could have been.
It's a damned fine effort though but she will have to get used to the Kaufman comparisons.
From what I've already read, director Sophie Barthes was inspired to write this by a dream. She is also reportedly tired of comparisons to Kaufman's films. What does she expect? If you crossed Being John Malkovich with Eternal Sunshine and added a sprinkle of Zach Helm's screenplay for Stranger Than Fiction you would probably end up with Cold Souls.
Barthes dream must have been a great one as the concept for the story sucks you right in. Without going too much into the details, it involves a tired and stressed actor (Giamatti) who discovers a 'soul storage' company who specialise in extracting souls.
Giamatti ums and ahs about the procedure before signing his life away, or soul away, as it may be. Needless to say, things don't work out as planned and pretty soon his wife notices his weird behaviour and there are Russians also involved in illegal trafficking of human souls.
Anyone who enjoyed Giamatti in American Splendour and Sideways should enjoy this. Carrying the film virtually on his own, he does a brilliant job as the angst ridden actor in desperate search for his soul. Emily Watson and David Strathairn do well in small support roles. Dina Korzun is also very good as the sad Russian 'mule' who swaps peoples souls for short periods to traffic them to and from the States and Russia. Unfortunately her character is never fully fleshed out which is a real shame and therein lies the problem with the screenplay. Even with Giamatti working his arse off, he ultimately can only do so much with the material. I agree with other viewers who have posted that the story is uneven and Barthes doesn't get the middle or the ending right. It's choppy and not thought out enough.
I found the film entertaining but certainly wasn't moved by it. As mentioned, the idea is a good one but I was somewhat disappointed that Barthes didn't fully explore the themes and make this as interesting as it could have been.
It's a damned fine effort though but she will have to get used to the Kaufman comparisons.