DVD
Review | The Sleepy Time Gal
Written by: Kage
Alan
As I recently mentioned in my review for "The
Slaughter Rule", one of the
latest companies to send some films our way here at Moda is Sundance.
While movie enthusiasts are familiar with the Festival by the same
name, many
filmgoers don't understand the philosophy behind it. Sundance
brings a
udiences a number of independent films that they would most likely
never see
in mainstream theatres or even on television. It allows for
diversity in
film and expression to exist where it's previously hasn't because the
stories
aren't considered formula enough to appeal to what we are used to
being fed.
Frances (Jacqueline Bisset, "St. Ives") used to be one of
the leading radio
DJs in the Florida area, only she fell upon hard times and has had
trouble
finding decent work ever since. It seems the older she gets, the
more she
thinks back to all of the decisions she's made in her life and how
things
might have been had she done things differently. One such
decision she
spends a great deal of time contemplating is the daughter she gave up
for
adoption and these thoughts intensify when doctors discover she has
cancer
and not a great deal of time left to live.
The second major story arc in "The Sleepy Time Gal" involves
Frances'
daughter, Rebecca (Martha Plimpton, "Running On Empty"), an
up and coming
corporate attorney unhappy with her job and place in life. As
she attempts
to understand who she really is, she begins a search for the mother
and
father she never knew in hopes that it may somehow help explain the
woman she struggles to be and may yet become.
These two tales mixed with a supporting cast that includes Nick Stahl
("Bully") as France's poor photographer son, Amy Madigan
("Streets of Fire")
as her sympathetic nurse, Seymour Cassel ("Mountain Men) as the
love of her
life and Frankie Faison ("Red Dragon") as the station
manager soon to be out
of a job who befriends Rebecca all come together to create a rich
emotional
journey that audiences are drawn into. The performances are
fairly top notch
with only Plimpton lacking in the beginning, the story moves along at
its own
unhurried pace and the conclusion allows some of the characters to
finish
their journeys while others begin.
Sundance Entertainment and Showtime have released "The Sleepy
Time Gal" in a fairly consistent Widescreen transfer. Video
quality has only a hint of
grain in some areas and a few flecks and specs, but nothing overly
aggravating. I don't have any complaints with the sound quality,
especially
since this isn't an effects film and the dialogue is understood quite
easily.
As for extras, this is a promo disc and doesn't contain finished
elements
the final disc will. While it is subject to change, the final
DVD may
include a commentary with Wirter/Director Christopher Munch and
actress
Jacqueline Bisset as well as a Snapshot Diary.
This is a film I probably wouldn't have considered picking up on my
own
without knowing what it was about first, but then I might have given
the
cast. I guess it would depend on how much extra I had in my
check that week. Rest assured, though, I wouldn't have been
disappointed. This isn't what I would consider a typical
Hollywood film at all and I'm not certain that most viewers will take
to the pace or the story, but "The Sleepy Time Gal" makes
for a welcome journey of the heart.
Film Rating:
B+
DVD Special Features: TBD
FEATURED COMMENTS:
|
