Customer Reviews

Fortunes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I rented this DVD because I was very interested to see how the 3 lead actors played off each other, particularly in light their being, ostensibly at least, such different character types. I'd seen Mike McGlone in Brothers McMullen and She's the One, and then later in the excellent Dinner Rush with Danny Aiello. And James Urbaniak plays the uniquely idiosyncratic lead role amazingly in the seminal independent film Henry Fool, directed by the great Hal Hartley. Finally the least "indie" of the 3, Tony Hale, plays one of the more neurotic characters on one of my favorite (now a "brilliant but canceled") shows Arrested Development and turns in the most realized and comically sympathetic performance in the film.

Although funny and compelling in places, it seemed inconsistent and admittedly I found I was a bit unsure about Fortunes on the initial viewing, but it definitely charmed me into taking another look. And I discovered that what at first felt perhaps more like pacing issues and the absence of the sharp "edginess" that characterizes a lot of independent film, as that certainly is generally what the indie audience comes to see, was actually much more of a studied, subtle exploration of early life crisis and uncertainty. The film is a sort of dark satire but with a lighter touch, resisting the indie urge for grittiness and brazenness in favor of a more supple approach.





The acting is really good (all 3 of the leads as well as a few of the supporting cast - notably the woman who plays the wife, Diana Henry, have terrific comedic and dramatic timing) - subtle like the writing and the overall film - and it's definitely shot very well - it's beautiful to look at for an independent. And the direction of the film brings all the elements together creatively and imaginatively, but again, with a sense of restraint. Getting past the initial sense of deliberateness in the film was a bit like the characters themselves getting past (ie - forced by their uneasiness to get past) their initial, natural cynicism about what a fortune teller has to say in the first place.



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I don't know what the other reviewer is talking about. No, this movie does not have the budget of a big studio film, but that is part of what makes it so enjoyable.

The focus here is on the story and the acting, all of which are successfully represented by an excellent cast, many of whose names have already become more recognizable (Tony Hale), some who were already recognizable (Mike McGlone) and some who hopefully will be more recognizable with deserved work (Diana Henry). These characters are not presented in easy to digest cardboard cutouts. The film actually asks for you to view it complete before making full judgement on the individuals and their choices. Perhaps some people don't have the patience for that and need to have their attention diverted with flashier tricks. Similarly, this is not a movie packed with "jokes," but one where the humor is derived from character and situation. When did these become bad things?

Anyhow, ignore the other review (he doesn't even have the right actors associated with the correct storylines). This movie has plenty to offer, starting with script and following through to it's acting and directing. It's a freshman effort on many people's parts here - all of it encouraging. I look forward to seeing more from this screenwriter and director (as well as the capable cast).

This is a small independent film that really -- and unfortunately -- has been under the radar; however, FORTUNES features a terrific cast and an original yet identifiable story line. And the music is really good too. Though its humor may be a bit dry and its action too subtle for some, if your attention span is longer than that of a four-year-old inhaling Halloween candy then this fine movie's true and rewarding qualities will be readily apparent. Give FORTUNES a chance!

Over the course of a weekend, I started reading Maurice Blanchot's The Space of Literature, had a bad case of flu and writer's block, and then watched this movie. Three states of being, three characters, a few fortune cookies... FORTUNES, the movie, ostensibly offered a great escape: a light/dark comedy, full of boys, beer, a dwarf. Just what I needed to shake French postwar criticism, a stalled novel and other pressing issues into oblivion. Instead, my preoccupations immediately took shape around the characters in the movie... biological and existential angst (Phil), the practical and spiritual perils of being an artist (Lewis) and the empty drive for money and acceptance (James). It was only after the movie was over that James' role as the real artist in the picture--filmmaker himself--became clear to me. The clarity came from re-reading Blanchot's concept, "Noli me legere: do not read me." Blanchot says, "No one who has written the work [made the film] can linger close to it. For the work is the very decision which dismisses him, cuts him off, makes of him a survivor without work. He becomes the inert idler upon whom art does not depend." This is James at the end of the film... the only guy of the three who didn't get to sit down in the same space with inspiration (the fortune teller), who, in the end, beats the pavement, effectively homeless (gel-less), glimpsing/misrecognizing inspiration in diner windows... wandering outside the editing booth after the film has been shot, after the work has been written, cut off, a survivor. Bravo FORTUNES!

Here's a movie that is another example of the artistic freedom independent moviemakers make, and how a disregard for sheer entertainment value is abandoned in a sober attempt to exhibit their own "originality." FORTUNES is a dull, tedious movie with a plot so slim and uninteresting as to question why any studio picked it up.
We have three youngish men: Mike McGlone as an investment banker with wandering eyes; James Urbaniak as a corporate husband with a young son; and Tony Hale as a television editor who wants to be a writer. They all stop in to visit a fortune teller on a whim and what she tells Urbaniak and Hale changes their lives. Urbaniak was told that something might happen to his four year old son so he becomes an overly protective, completely fanatical father looking for doom behind every door; Hale quits his job and sits around the house drinking in his bathrobe. Problem is these guys are so obnoxious it's hard to care about them, especially Hale whose withdrawal and self pity only enhances his irritability.
Sloppily filmed and acted, FORTUNES is a real loser.