Liebestraum

Moody and lovely, the films of Mike Figgis probably seem like plum roles for the actors involved but damn, they all take themselves so seriously. His last film, Internal Affairs gave Richard Gere, as a rogue cop, one of the best roles of his career and significantly, he was the only one who showed a willingness to lighten up the mood of heavy, portentious dread. No one breaks the spell here. Liebestraum has more in common with Figgis's earlier film, Stormy Monday, an arty film about a brutal American industrialist and his captive mistress. Similarly, Liebestraum has Anderson, a brooding architect, come to a small town in upstate New York where his mother, a woman he's never known, lies dying. Novak, as mom, is sadly underutilized here. She spends most of her time looking haggard and moaning. When not watching his mother die, Anderson finds himself mysteriously drawn to the beautiful old building across the street from his hotel, the site of an apparent murder/suicide involving an adulterous couple. On a visit to the building, Anderson finds his old college chum, Pullman, is the contractor hired to tear it down. Enter Gidley as Pullman's wife, the beautiful captive. This town, Elderstown, has secrets that torment Novak on her deathbed and haunts Anderson as he begins to piece together the mystery of his mother and his parentage. The building may not hold the answer but it is the source of the mystery. Liebestraum pokes around in the same territory as Dead Again, but it's got no sense of humor. Everyone stares at each other with such intensity, they practically bore holes in each other. Someone has got to crack a smile, and the problem is that if the people on screen won't do it, it's up to the audience. That's not what Figgis had in mind.