Customer Reviews

Hurlyburly [VHS]

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

pHurlyburly is a word which means "confusion or tumult." It is an apt title for this movie, which details the confusion often caused by some people's search for a life with true meaning. The questions here are numerous, but for both the main characters and the audience, the answers are very few. What we do see are the ways in which the characters deal with the mystery that is life.

Sean Penn play Eddie, whose house in the Hollywood Hills is the film's main location. His best friend Mickey [Kevin Spacey] has moved in with him because his marriage is on the rocks. The two are executives in the movie business. They are a case of opposites attracting. Mickey is low-keyed and never, ever ruffled. He has a basically content, though somewhat cynical, view of life. Eddie is an excitable guy who lives on the edge. Mickey may be the only sane friend he has.

I should say here that one of the elements in Hurlyburly that put many people off is that Eddie is a drug addict. Except for a short period with a new girl friend, he seems to be high all his waking hours. Thus, some viewers felt that his quest to find out whether he had a place in the universal order of things [assuming there IS an order] was absurd. It isn't politically correct these days, but while I do not advocate drug use, I do think many of the people who turn to them are already very confused. To them, drugs are a logical but very dangerous tool. Substance abuse may also be an attempt to soothe an already tortured soul. A person's using drugs is not a sufficient reason to write off what they think or feels.

Phil [Chazz Palminteri] is another of Eddie's friends. Phil is an obvious psychotic. His problems include heavy paranoia and a complete fear and loathing of women. He is prone to violence as well. Yet Eddie senses a goodness in the chaos that is Phil. He also relates to Phil's search for some sense to life. While the other characters mock working-class Phil, Eddie sees his innate intelligence. He also recognizes a fellow traveler in the hurlyburly of life.

A movie such as this is often not a viewer's dream, but it is always an actor's dream. Here, an especially strong and well-known cast gets to strut its stuff in ways impossible in a commercial picture. Sean Penn, who once planned to quit acting, shows again that he is one of our finest talents. He becomes Eddie. Kevin Spacey's abilities are well know. Chazz Palminteri is dazzling as Phil. Playing a young street person, Anna Paquin puts another notch in her resume. Robin Penn Wright is commanding in the film's least flashy role. For the first time since 1993's Flesh and Bone, Meg Ryan gets to remind us that she can be far more than a romantic lead.

The one thing that I had difficulty with was the male characters' views on women. To a man, they seemed to relate to women only as sex objects. There are such groups of guys, of course, but I found myself getting increasingly uncomfortable with this point of view. It seemed to take away from the script's higher aspirations. If they were unwilling to try to understand women, how could these men ever understand the cosmos?

Hurlyburly is a difficult and intelligent movie. Still, it is far more accessible than, say, the same years's Eyes Wide Shut, which left even this seasoned moviegoer with a blank look and a blinding headache. It should prove to be a treat to those who enjoy challenging dialog and impeccable acting.

This movie most obviously benefits from a flawlessly written script and exceptional acting. The dialogue is written remarkably well and the entire cast (including Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn, Anna Paquin, Robin Wright Penn, Meg Ryan, and Garry Shandling) recites it with perfection, even through long and drawn out, yet very interesting conversations. The acting and direction makes the characters seem like real people, and we are merely onlookers viewing a small portion of their complicated lifestyles in the Hollywood upperclass. Sean Penn gives one of his best performances as Eddie and Kevin Spacey does a great job as the cynical Mickey, though he isn't given as much screen time as he deserves. Meg Ryan and Anna Paquin show up more as cameos, rather than actual characters, but they play their brief parts to perfection. If you can stand watching a movie that focuses on the characters and the story without any action or special effects, than this movie is worth watching.

What you must know going into this movie is that you will not be passive about it. You will either love this movie or you will hate it. Many people say it drags on, lacks plot, etc, but I completely disagree. It is a movie about modernism, post modernism, post post modernism, all those absurdities of modern artists, especially existentialism. This is a movie about the next lost generation, people living in a world with no comfort for those who find it goes by too fast for them to find anything to feel passionate about. These people are searching for something, anything, to crave, and we as the viewers simply are introduced to a splice of their thoughts, hopes, dreams, etc. Anna Paquin is amazing in one of her first starring roles since The Piano; her progress as an actress is nothing short of spectacular. Meg Ryan finally sheds her ever-present cuteness and dares to take a role completely unlike any of her others, and does it impeccably. The chemistry between Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn is gripping as always, as they slip into new, absurdly off-center roles. Kevin Spacey is stunning. I love that this movie was created by many of the actors in it, I love the intelligence and creativity they gave it. This is one of my favorite movies, but it is clearly not for everyone.

Hurlyburly begins slowly, because the premise rests upon an intricately drawn out character study, not only of individuals leading a life out of ballance, but also, necessarilly, of a culture that enables them to do so. There is no "unheard of occurence", and what plot there is is purely incidental, a barely meaningful byproduct of the real purpose of the movie: the study of a group of characters fleeing from their own consciousness by whatever means available. It is uncomfortable to watch, not only because their search for transcendence and meaning is doomed to fail, and fail embarassingly, but because their attempts are by in large life-negating. There is the obvious escape into substance abuse, marginalised sexual behaviours and the like, but more convincingly, the drug of choice seems to be the characters own perversions of philosophical thought, designed to absolve themselves of responsibility for being (ala Sartre), to trap them in their own reflection (ala Kierkegaard) and to set up house in the reflective mind so as not to be in the world itself living (ala Heidegger).

The acting performances are electrifying! Contrary to some critique, Meg Ryan gives an outstanding performance; her humour in the role is less an extension of her "cute" persona, as a reflection of a hedonistic and yet ironic view. While one may objectively feel that the life of a drugged out sex addict, with poor self-protective skills, and parenting prectices that may only be classified as abusive is contemptible, nevertheless one is forced to give her grudging credit for an equanimious approach to life and healthy sense of irony. Penn gives one of the best performances i have ever seen from him, and Spacey, who may well serve as the group's plumb line, offers a piercing insigt into the films situation at the end. He wanders through the situations like a Greek chorus, righting the viewers perceptions, and offering a grounding figured bass counterpoint to the frenetic mental gyrations of the other characters.

The movie's "turning point" is a poignant embodiment of Sartres notion of the anguish of man: the fear is not that one may fall, but that one may jump.

This film is of coarse based upon a play, so my expectations were not especially high. Once I saw this I was impressed with what the original writer had to say. Not only does this film have a very interesting and funny story to it, the cast fits their parts very well. No one other than Sean Penn could have played the character of Eddie, who when every time he comes home, a different person is already there waiting to tell him their problems in a very detailed and smart monologue. So if you're in the mood to see a film that doesn't glorify itself on special effects and a high butget, see this.

"hurlyburly" is not the kind of movie for everyone. You have to keep your mind very open in order to enjoy the show. And as Doug Thomas says in the Amazon's Editorial Review: "[it is] a film that can be admired but not loved". I couldn't agree more with him. The people around in this movie are very weird and I'm not sure you would want to have them hanging around with you.

As it is adapted from a play, the movie focuses much more on the characters than in the actions. So there is a lot of talk. Really, almost non-stop, but it never gets boring. And it doens't suffer from the same problem that most plays do when translated to the screen. It's doens't have many characters or scenarios, but you get so involved with the discussions, that you hardly notice these things. David Rabe's screenplay is really good!

Although the film is about the lifestyle of some LA folks, I think somehow, it gets more and more universal as the picture goes on. The themes they talk about -- e.g. love, sex, friendship, marriage, carrer, death -- are not restricted to their lives. You may not identify yourself to the characters, but you, certainly, do to some events they have to face. Who has never had a friend asking for some advice about marriage? Or having to deal with your best friend stealing your girlfriend? Or the death of a pal?

The director was very lucky with his cast. Sean Penn shows why he is so good doing a bad guy -- Eddie is not the kind of bad guy we usually see, but he is bad somehow--, Kevin Spacey is one of the greatest actors ever, and he is so good in this picture that he makes your feelings go from love to hate in a change of scene.There aren't many girls here, but the ones who are around do a very effective work. Robin Wright Penn is as beautiful and confident as always -- this girl has such a presence that you feel sorry when she is not in the screen. Meg Ryan goes a little wild as she had never been; and even her harshest critics have to face that she can do something different from the girlfriend-from-romantic-comedies.

This film is classified as drama, but I think it is much more a black comedy than anthing else. It doesn't ake you laugh aloud, but it steals some little smiles from you. As I mentioned before, 'hurlyburly' is not the kind of movie that everyone will enjoy. It's the kind of film that expects you to have much background to accept and like it. Anyway, open minded people should try it, but if you like only 'cute' films, stay away!

No flash, special effects, blood and violence, no nudity or sexual explitives and what do you get? A movie about the realistic thought patterns and cycles induced by hallucinagetic drug abuse. A brilliant movie that explored the true sense of self and "his" relation to the world, others and most painfully your own SELF. Acting was superb and the movie was excellent. 5 stars, no doubt. To all of the people who HATE this movie, Learn to listen and try not to understand.

Saw this 3 times in theater when released, finally watched it again on video. Truly great! Next, I'd like to hear the commentary on the DVD release.

Reading the reviews here, one thing becomes clear: Those without a philosophical bent miss the point, and to them Hurly Burly becomes "A movie about absolutely nothing!" Some struggle to find meaning in life. Others struggle to find meaning in movies that don't hold your hand and walk you down the plot, wrapping up nicely at the end with a tidy spelling out of The Point.

My favorite riff in the movie is how technology constantly feeds data in...too fast to process ...creating an atmosphere where one knows they SHOULD care about this stuff but it just becomes so much "meaningless blah blah rappity ta". The details of their lives get mixed in with the details of the constant info flow and they can't decide what to care about. So, they forget to care about any of it. Eddie's mind becomes like a fly buzzing around. The Cable TV, cell phones, pagers & message services in Hurly Burly provide a continual stream of interference preventing the ability to Be Here Now.

Ironically, many of the bad reviews here mention "fast forwarding through the boring parts". PERFECT! That's the point. Your life is too busy to take the time to watch the movie, so you didn't get it. I know how it is- there's a million other movies you could be watching. It's one less thing to bother caring about.

I disagree with some reviewers that the setting in L.A. or Hollywood is critical to the story. This could have been set anywhere...the questions these characters struggle with are universal and do not just apply to "show biz insiders" or "those wackos out there in LA LA Land."

As you can see from the Love/Hate vibe of the reviews here, Hurly Burly is not for everyone. If you are entertained by "America's Sweetheart" sleepwalking through come typical Hollywood crap, you will not like Hurly Burly. If you're primary motivation for watching a movie is because you think the actor is a dreamboat, you will not like Hurly Burly. If you routinely fast forward through movies or write reviews on movies you did not finish watching, you will not like Hurly Burly. If you have the desire/ability to ponder the meaning of life, by all means, watch Hurly Burly.

"Hurlyburly" turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me. I had read the play and was deeply depressed by it, not understanding the point of the play. Seeing it translated to the screen by actors who have fully realized their characters in their respective situations, I suddenly understood what the film is about. It's about people on a spiritual quest. Or at least one man, who tries to break out of his drug-hazed world, in order to understand if there is such a thing as fate, or a God, and if so, does He have plans for the lives of all? It is about alienation, both by technology, and social standing, and education, or lack thereof.

Don't expect this film to spell out all it's meanings and explorations to you. It's up to the viewer to put the puzzle pieces together, and discover the meaning themselves. This is a smart film made for very little money, and a lot of hopes behind it.

Fine acting by all, especially Sean Penn who brings dimensions of need, occasional sensibility, and selfishness to his turbulent role. Kevin Spacey makes a fine comic foil for most of the film, but has one instant of sheer emotional power as his conscience pays him an unexpected visit for one brief moment.

I would definitely recommend the viewer watch the director's commentary on the DVD to better understand the film.

Sean Penn, Anna Paquin, Kevin Spacey, Gary Shandling, Robin Wright Penn, Meg Ryan, Chazz Palmintieri - Cripes! Is there anybody who ISN'T in this intense, "actors' piece"? A group of self-centered, mean-spirited, industry players (and their tangent acquaintances), roll out their inner conflicts, fears, character flaws, quasi-relationships, and unpleasant quirks for us in painful detail, as they work/drug/booze/screw/scam their way through their respective industry careers. Not a redeeming soul to be found in this fascinating look at the amoral folks who run "the business."