Customer Reviews

The Moderns

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Between 15-18 years ago, filmmaker Alan Rudolph, a protege of Robert Altman's, came out with a trio of really excellent films that captured the feeling of the times and places they were set in beautifully. The first was "Choose Me", a story about singles in the tail end of the disco era and the effect casual sex has on its characters; "Trouble In Mind", to this day, the ONLY film that attempts to capture the bizarre zeitgeist of the early eighties and the late seventies, a time that every person over 30 has lived through cognitively, but no other filmmaker sought to fictionalize....

Then there was "The Moderns": A movie so thick with atmosphere, good acting and mood that you'll be hard pressed to find something to compare it with. The story centers around unemployed artist Nick Hart, (Keith Carradine, the star of Rudolph's other two masterpieces,) dealing with the sudden appearance back in his life of Rachel, a woman who blows hot and cold, and who just happens to be his peripatetic wife from an earlier life. The odd thing is, she's ALSO the wife of a shallow, materialistic so and so named Bert Stone, a "little man" who made his fortune in prophylactics. These parts are played by Linda Fiorentino and John Lone....Lone being a truly quirky bit of casting.

Despite her long absence from his life and Stone's presence, they rekindle their old relationship under Stone's nose, although he obviously suspects something from the beginning.

Set in Paris in the 20's, Hart and his fellow characters are pictured as having a peripheral connection with Gertrude Stein's inner circle, a circle that includes Ernest Hemingway. This is where the atmosphere comes in, along with excellent music, as Rudolph recreates the period and setting near-perfectly, allowing his actors to reveal the mechanics of bohemian relationships, circa 1925 or so...

In true Altman/Rudolph fashion, the ensemble cast's the thing, as every character seems to get equal screen time. Geraldine Chaplin has a turn here as one of Hart's paramours and sponsors and Genevieve Bujold is a cagy art dealer Hart has business with. Wallace Shawn also has a part as a "passing scene" columnist for a Parisian newspaper who contemplates suicide.

Rudolph pays attention to every tiny detail, and has his American characters speaking English in interplay with each other and his French characters speaking French. Bujold speaks a form of "esperanto" that includes BOTH languages throughout the film.

Can't afford that ticket to La Belle France? Rent this movie, break out the brie, boules and chablis and enjoy this substantial, quirky movie!

I would give this movie five stars for myself, but objectively I recomend it at four. The other reviews do a good job of summing up. I just wanted to add that if your a fan of little touches and subtle humour, this is one of the greats. Hemmingway played more as the kind the drunken writer you might actually meet in real life, constantly giving out philosophy and observations in an un-solicited manner, obsessed with fair play (see the boxing match). Two American tourists in the cafe getting their literary facts wrong in the begining of the movie. An oil painting bobbing up and down as the background of a scene in a moving car... Hope I'm not giving away too much, but the little touches are part of why this is such a fun movie. If your into art, literature and the romantism of the twenties, but can still laugh at it and yourself, this is a great film.

A good, solid movie. I was drawn to this film by Alan Rudolph the director and Keith Carradine the lead actor, then when I saw the other members of the cast I knew the film HAD to be good. It is set in the art and literature world of 1926 Paris, and has overtones of John Huston's "Moulin Rouge" in its occasional biographical sketches. The characters are living in 1926, and the movie does such a good job of transporting the viewer to The Jazz Age Paris, that no one seems stale. Keith Carradine once again does a great job of being a disillusioned, cynical man with still a heart of human goodness. Geneiveve Bujold is excellent as a true, supporting friend, and Linda Fiorentino plays her part perfectly as a love who slips into and out of places, and not always when you would like her to. Geraldine Chaplin is terrific in her removed and superior manner in dealing with everyone.
The song "Speak to me of Love" sung slowly and softly in French thoughout parts of the film acts as a binding agent to keep bringing the events together to the main theme. Most of the situations that come up are believable and attention holding, and it is a solidly enjoyable experience seeing them get worked out.
I drank the wine from its bottle. I watched the movie. It was good.

This an entertaining, unassuming film, set in Paris of the 1920s. I have always liked films set around this time because they are fun in terms of their music, the style of dress, and their mood. This film loosely follows a struggling young artist (is there any other kind?) as he works on his craft in Paris. Along the way, you have great costumes and great tunes. I love the theme song played at the beginning of the film as well as that short "Da-Da" piece played in the middle. Linda Fiorentino supplies the flapper beauty and oh boy is she pretty! There are some historical figures that pop up in this movie, like a young Hemingway casting about in Paris, and they help to add to the flavour of the film. If you like films such as "Henry and June" or Jennifer Jason Leigh's Dorothy Parker film from the 1990s, then you should give this DVD a spin. You might enjoy it!

I was probably drawn to THE MODERNS because of the 1920's Parisian settings. I make no secret of the fact that, in another life, I must have been a very happy Parisian. As the song says, I Love Paris. Over the past several years I have spent weeks on end wandering about the streets and cafes of Paris, searching for the vestiges of the Paris of the lost generation. Amazingly enough, if you know where to look, a lot of that Paris is still around. For what's not still there, THE MODERNS is one of the better ways of filling in the blanks.

In my opinion, the plot is just an excuse to create a unique ambience and plop the viewer into the world of Paris of the 20's and 30's. We get glimpses of some of the expatriate Americans who either made the Parisian scene famous, or became famous because they were part of that era. From my own investigations, I have been led to believe that Hemingway was less of a fop and more of a bully than the Hemingway of THE MODERNS. As opposed to one of his fights as it was portrayed here, Parisians are more apt to talk about the fight that he picked, in the Falstaff Cafe in Montparnasse, with a man whom he outweighed by 85 pounds and whom he beat severely.

Not to complain, however, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas et al, are only here as backdrops, and they serve that function perfectly. The plot, for what it's worth, centers around a technically expert, but financially unsuccessful artist named Nick Hart, portrayed by Keith Carridine; Nick's ex-wife and sometimes lover, played by Linda Fiorentino; and a commissioned art forgery. A sub-plot or two also floats around. In particular there is one about the potentially explosive animosity between Hart and his ex-wife's current husband. For comic relief there is a perennially depressed reporter, known simply as Oiseau, played by Wallace Shawn.

Put all of these characters, plots and sub-plots into the film can, shake vigorously and out pops THE MODERNS. Amazingly enough, I really liked this movie, and I predict that you will too.

This is an outstanding film of elegant style, mood and atmosphere. It's also one of the best movies I've seen about painting. Carradine plays Nicholas Hart, a struggling, expatriot artist living in 1920's Paris. Linda Fiorentino plays Rachel, the beautiful wife who walked out on him in America for a more prosperous future. Now, she too is in Paris with Bertram Stone, her rich, dangerous and unloving husband (played by John Lone). Stone is intent on buying himself a world class art collection not for any love of painting but for the notoriety it brings. What he cannot control is the love that is reignited between Hart and Rachel, to disastrous and unexpected consequences. A parallel storyline has Hart being asked by his art dealer to forge three beautiful paintings by Cezanne and Modigliani for a rich Parisian woman intent on leaving her husband. The plan is to switch the real for the fake and depart for the United States where she will donate the paintings to a new museum, the New York Museum of Modern Art. Hart reluctantly agrees to copy the paintings, and we are treated to several lovingly done sequences inside his flat as he goes about his work with great care, intensity, and skill. Carradine, Fiorentino and Lone all put in very strong performances. But overshadowing them all is Kevin O'Connor as a young, serious, passionate and poetic Hemingway, who is Hart's friend and our link with the past. Alan Rudolph has created something very special here, a Paris straight out of our dreams, with warm and comfortable cafes, wet and narrow cobblestone streets, creaky artists flats, smokey voiced women, a Paris filled with creative spirit and those who have -- or want to make it -- the center of their lives. They were all so very modern! Also stylish and memorable is the score by Mark Isham.

I love this movie and my only issue is that the VCR version, subtitled when the characters spoke French - some very amusing asides are lost in the DVD version because the French is not subtitled. Otherwise, I can't recommend it enough.

Director Alan Rudolph's "The Moderns" is all about Paris in the 1920's and captures the cafe society, the American expatriates, the artists and the pretentiousness and shallowness of the times. Keith Carradine is an American artist who cannot make a living and is obsessed with Rachel (Linda Fiorentino) who is married to a boorish businessman Bert Stone (John Lone) who has made his fortune in condoms. The plot has enough surprises to keep you interested most of the time, although the film, for all its beautiful cinematography and attention to detail, ultimately is a bit slow.

Fictional characters intermingle with Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and Alice to give the film a feeling of authenticity. Genevieve Bujold plays a gallery owner and Geraldine Chaplin is a wealthy heiress who convinces Nick to copy masterpieces. The movie belongs to Keith Carradine and Linda Fiorentino, however, who have one of the hottest sex scenes in a bathtub that you'll ever see. It sizzles. This is one of those films that you like much more after you've had time to mull over it.

Although this film is far from perfect it is a wonderful depiction of Paris during the infamous 1920's when all the great American writers and artists resided there.

Nick Hart (Keith Carradine) is a starving American artist who haunts little Parisian cafes with his charcoal pencil and drawing pad in hand as he sketches people he deems interesting. He becomes intrigued with a darkly mysterious woman named Rachel Stone (Linda Fiorentino) and her corruptly powerful husband Bertram Stone (John Lone). As the story unfolds we discover a past exists between Hart and Mrs. Stone and danger follows their lurking interests along Parisian streets. Mr. Stone is supposedly an art dealer/collector who seems to know all of the most important of people while reducing those he cares little for to pulp. A drunken Hemmingway (Kevin J. O'Connor) along with the likes of Alice B. Tolkas (Ali Giron) and her mate Gertrude Stein (Elsa Raven) make fleeting appearances during the film in a half-hearted attempt to maintain the allure of Paris during the 20's. Hart discovers a way to make a living through his involvement with a rich heiress (Geraldine Chaplin) and an influential gallery owner (Genevieve Bujold) but this connection could also be his decline.

If you are someone who carries on a romance with Paris and all that she holds then you will probably find this film very appealing. Director Alan Rudolph manages to capture what life must have been like during the time of Hemmingway, Fitzgerald and Stein as Americans in Paris. One would almost prefer he had made a film directly related to the famous people he randomly refers to in this movie, we all know they were in themselves extraordinarily interesting subjects. But overall this film is worth watching despite the little imperfections and a bit of bad acting here and there. Carradine and Fiorentino display a decent chemistry in order to carry the story to completion. As always though the true hero here is Paris, a city as old as it is timeless.

'The Moderns' is a moody , insightful film about love, redemption, art and music. A fanciful 1920's Paris plays witness to the dramas that unfold. The soundtrack is incredible. Carradine is perfect. Linda Florentino is smooth and sensual (before she got boobs). Wallace Shawn plays the dorky gossip columnist to a 'T'. John Lone (the bartender in Kill Bill) plays the bad guy ( but in the end kind of sympathetic). The cafe ambience is a steadfast landmark of Paris. Hemingway, Toklas, Stein,
James Joyce, and Sylvia Beach (proprietor of Shakespeare and Company (Paris) all make their appearances. See this movie. Buy the dvd. Get the music. Dream it.