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Laurel Canyon [Region 2]
  

Laurel Canyon [Region 2]

Starring: Frances McDormand, Alessandro Nivola Director: Lisa Cholodenko Rating: R (Restricted) Format: DVD
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)

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Region 2 encoding (This DVD will not play on most DVD players sold in the US or Canada [Region 1]. This item requires a region specific or multi-region DVD player and compatible TV. More about DVD formats.)

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Product Details

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When young psychiatrist Sam (Christian Bale), the son of record producer Jane (Frances McDormand), brings his girlfriend Alex (Kate Beckinsale) to stay at his mother's house, he's expecting that Jane will be gone--but a delay in finishing an album with a British rocker named Ian (Alessandro Nivola) has kept her there. Instantly, the tensions of Sam's counterculture childhood set off a series of betrayals and attractions that threaten to wreck Sam and Alex's relationship. Director Lisa Cholodenko has a keen eye for the behavior, delineating doctors and musicians by the ways they talk and greet each other--it's an almost anthropological study of different tribes. Laurel Canyon lacks the focused story of High Art, Cholodenko's previous movie, and some viewers may find the ways the characters change too subtle to be rewarding; but for others, the rich, detailed performances will be a pleasure worth having. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker

After the solemnities of "High Art," the director Lisa Cholodenko has turned to lighter matters: specifically, what to do if your mother is an unreconstructed hippie. Sam (Christian Bale) takes his fiancée, Alex (Kate Beckinsale), home to California to meet his mom, Jane (Frances McDormand), a record producer whose walls of photographs bear testament to a life misspent in rock. She is all the family that Sam has but far more than he wants, and the movie watches tenderly over their time together. Jane's idea of family values is to come within an inch of seducing her son's girlfriend, bringing a shameless young rock star (Alessandro Nivola) along for the ride. The movie has poise and a lightly perspiring sexiness, but also an uncertain sense of humor, and you end up rooting for the squares-especially Sam and his colleague Sara (Natascha McElhone), who have more fun in the front of a Volvo than seems either practical or legal. The soundtrack is full of ersatz British pop, so tuneless and squally that it could almost be the real thing. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

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Customer Reviews

91 Reviews
5 star:
 (21)
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 (26)
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 (21)
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 (11)
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (91 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Frances McDormand is a "babe" in every sense of the word, August 10, 2003
By Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Laurel Canyon (DVD)
I've always loved Frances McDormand. She completely gets into every role she plays. And in this film she's better than ever. Laurel Canyon is an area of Los Angeles where only the people who have "made it" live She's cast as Jane, a successful record producer in her mid forties. She lives her life with constant energy and enthusiasm. She smokes illegal substances and eats vegetarian. She looks great too, and is a "babe" in every sense of the word. We soon learn she has a long list of former lovers, both male and female. But currently she's involved with a young British rocker, played by Allesandro Nivola, and their couplings burn up the screen.

Her son, Sam, on the other hand, played by Christian Bale, is exactly the opposite. He's just graduated from Harvard Medical School and is engaged to Alex, played by Kate Beckinsale, who is not only a doctor, but also a research scientist. They're supposed to borrow Jane's home while he completes his residency in a local hospital, but it doesn't work out that way. Jane stays in the house, which is also a recording studio, to finish up a record with the rock band.

At the hospital, Sam meets a fellow doctor, Sara, played by Natascha McElhone and there is immediate electricity between them. And Alex spends her days in the house where she finds it impossible to concentrate on her dissertation and is welcomed downstairs to hang out with Jane and the band. Soon she's indulging in Jane's lifestyle. Eventually, she finds herself in a unique romantic scene.

Conflict is inevitable of course, and the film plays out in a predictable way. And, when I think of it, the storyline is a little silly. But I loved the fact that the film was about an unconventional lifestyle. And I was amazed at the intensity of Frances McDormand's performance, which called for a full gamut of emotions. She made every scene in which she appeared sparkle and all other scenes paled in comparison.

The film was written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko and even though the film is set in the present, there was a clear echo of the 1970s and the forces behind the rock music industry.

Very enjoyable film. I highly recommend it.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Lisa Cholodenko embodies inhibitions, choices, and love..., July 11, 2004
This review is from: Laurel Canyon (DVD)
The story surrounds Sam's (Christian Bale) mother Jane (Frances McDormand) who is a successful pleasure-seeking record producer in California. Sam escaped the hedonistic life style of his mother to seek a more responsible spot in the world through attending the Harvard Medical School from which he has recently graduated with a emphasis in psychiatry. In addition, Sam has furthered his rebellion against his mothers life style by proposing to a beautiful Harvard scientist, Alex (Kate Beckinsale). The perfectionist Alex moves with Sam to California where she can work on her thesis in regards to fruit flies and Sam can begin his residency in psychiatry. In order to save some money Sam and Alex move temporarily into Jane's house, which is a haven for drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll. Alex, who grew up in a rigid life style with country clubs and specific societal rules, are fascinated by Jane's life style and begins to explore the world that she never has experienced, which is about to lead into an emotionally painful journey.

Laurel Canyon is a terrific film about inhibitions, choices, and love, which Lisa Cholodenko embodies through the different characters. Cholodenko depicts the personal rules of the characters through social interactions between the characters as well as in the mise-en-scene. These personal rules are about to be broken as the characters are set in a society where rules are not the norm or wanted. This leads to interpersonal conflicts as it will most certainly hurt the individuals in the social setting in which they live. The conflicts lead the audience to ponder what is acceptable and desirable in our contemporary society where many different norms exists. In essence these norms are scrutinized through the fine direction and performance by an excellent cast.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Spend the time to watch this one.............., July 21, 2003
This review is from: Laurel Canyon (DVD)
it's not "edge of your seat" or dripping with romance, but its good. good, in that you can FEEL it. the tension, the issues, the past, all of it. kate b. is OKAY, her guy is okay. their generic relationship is okay. but, i think its real.

Now, lets look at francis. SHE, ONCE AGAIN, IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if for no other reason you rent this movie, RENT IT TO SEE FRANCIS!!!!!! could she be any more real???? what an actress!!!!! actually, what a SOUL. i mean, what a soul she must have to pull from (to play these roles). rent this movie. she, alone, makes it worth it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Untapped Gold in the Canyon
Laurel Canyon, at best, comes off like a pilot for a cable drama series. It's positioned better for TV, because the characters are cardboard and not very deep. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mooseville

2.0 out of 5 stars Fine performances all the way around, but...
I'm not quite sure what to say about this film, really. On paper, it looks excellent - great cast, potentially interesting story line, pretty solid reviews. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Roger C. Delaney

4.0 out of 5 stars great character movie
I discovered this film as I have been going through Frances McDormand's body of work. I only began to really pay attention to her after Fargo (loved her, mostly hated the film -... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jon Norris

1.0 out of 5 stars Unfunny Home Video
The film begins by using a body double for a shocking sex scene that covers up body parts. Symbolism? The couple talk about rentals. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Acute Observer

2.0 out of 5 stars Just when you thought it was safe to finish your dissertation alone
When couples start growing apart. Your girlfriend Alex, who is supposed to be finishing up her dissertation on fruit flies having sex (Kate Beckinsale) ends up making out with... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Pat Nava

3.0 out of 5 stars Laurel canyon
Laurel Canyon,
I did not care for Kate B. in this role I like her more in a role like Serendipity.
Published 19 months ago by Wilfrid Koprowski

3.0 out of 5 stars Laurel and Hardy Canyon
Sam (Christian Bale) is serving an internship as a psychiatrist while his fiancé, Alex (Kate Beckinsale) is finishing her dissertation on genomes. Read more
Published 20 months ago by C. CRADDOCK

5.0 out of 5 stars Ladies of the Canyon
Pleasantly surprising small movie, loosely based on Joni Mitchell, according to the director. Frances McDormand is great. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Bradley F. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Laurel Canyon
Christian Bale is my favorite actor with Kate Beckinsale being one of my favorite actress.Iv always wanted to see these two actors make a movie together for some reason after... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Clark Kent

4.0 out of 5 stars Lessons of the heart
Laurel Canyon is just another up scale California suburb.Into this life style of free and easy rock and roll comes an uptight psychiatrist
and his medical school fiance:... Read more
Published 22 months ago by R. Bagula

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