About Stefan Halley
Location: Malmo, Sweden
Occupation: Editor-in-Chief
Bio: Stefan has been writing reviews for seven years and started Pop Syndicate out of need to voice his mis-guided opinion.
Posts: 812
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This how the film ends, not with a whimper but with a bang.
After the cult success of Donnie Darko, director Richard Kelly set about creating another off beat film. It took years for him to get everything finished and the release went largely unnoticed by everyone but loyal fans. After retooling the film a few times, Southland Tales is an incredible mess that will develop a small cult fan base but will be quickly forgotten by everyone else.
The story, as it were, takes place three years since terrorist detonated a nuclear bomb in Texas. Because of this the Patriot Act has been renewed with even greater force. Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson) is the highest paid actor but he disappeared for a few days and now has amnesia. He’s hooked up with porn star/talk show host Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and has written a screenplay that foreshadows the end of the world. Krysta is working with a “Neo-Marxist” movement to overthrow the ultra-conservative government. The Marxist have a plan involving twin brothers Roland and Ronald Tavner (Seann William Scott) and switching roles. Iraq vet Private Pilot Abilene (Justin Timberlake) narrates the whole thing.
That’s the basic premise but there is a whole lot more going on. Southland Tales is a sprawling effort that freely roams where ever Kelly feels like. The film is divided into chapters starting with part IV. There is a graphic novel that feels in the back story that should probably be read before watching the film as it’s sure to fill in quite a few plot holes. Southland Tales is a lot like the Daywatch series. It’s all over the place but amazingly comes together in some form in the end. It’s only upon a second or third viewing that everything makes sense. Because of that reason, it’s hard to write off Southland Tales as a total waste of time.
Kelly has a lot to say about America and the current political climate. The film is very “of the time” and given a few years, most of the context will be lost only to be reinterpreted for a new generation. The film screened for audiences at Cannes in 2006 and was royally ripped apart. Kelly took the film and retooled to some degree. Wither those changes were for the best, we’ll probably never know.
As off kilter as Southland Tales can be, its biggest problem is Kelly’s insistence on casting sixth string or worst actors in almost every role. It’s incredibly distracting when watching the film as Miranda Richardson, John Larroquette, Mandy Moore, Zelda Rubenstein, Nora Dunn, Bai Ling, John Lovitz, Amy Poehler, Will Sasso, Wallace Shawn and others all have roles in the film. It’s extremely jarring.
There are a couple of extras on the DVD. “USIDent TV: Surveilling the Southland” is a behind the scenes look at the film that is as much of a mess as the film. “This the Way the World Ends” is a short animated film about a pair of sea creatures talking about how humans destroyed the planet. There are also a number of trailers.
Only time will tell if Southland Tales will be considered a masterpiece. Odds are it will be largely forgotten or depending on how Kelly’s career goes, it might be put on the level of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, a masterpiece that was destroyed by studio tampering.
