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The Claim

Sarah Polley and Wes Bentley continue to seek out interesting roles which effectively keep them from the limelight despite their impressive acting abilities. This period drama opens on the town of Kingdom Come as railroad surveyor Bentley passes through to look for the best passage for the transcontinental railroad. Polley and her mother (portrayed by Nastassja Kinski) arrive at the same time, with a mysterious connection to the town's leader/mayor/king, Dillion (Peter Mullan). Milla Jovovich adds her ever-bizarre presence to the cast as Dillion's woman and head of the local saloon/whore house. Bentley and Polley's romance never becomes the convulsive force that it promises; it could have been discarded entirely except that it delivers the most satisfying scene in the movie, a beautifully shot, slow interchange between the two as a wedding party winds down around them. Otherwise, this one was forgotten for a reason. The many subplots never come together, and the effort as a whole leaves one unsatisfied.

 

Floundering

I came across this little indie flick when I was perusing the collected works of John Cusack. I think we all know how I feel about John. He's in it for about 3-4 seconds, but it was worth it. A parade of cameos spice up this self-involved drama about coming to grips with life in L.A. in the early '90s. James Le Gros plays the lead character, who is jobless, aimless, and having one really bad day. For those always on the lookout for a movie that questions what the hell we're doing here, this one will do. I have to say it pretty much slid right off my consciousness, except for noting the presence of the aforementioned John, the always interesting Jeremy Piven, and fascinating freakshow Steve Buscemi. This one could do wonders for my six degrees of Kevin Bacon game.