Movie Review

Ask the Dust

Ask the Dust was written and directed by Robert Towne, the legendary screenwriter who was behind Chinatown (as the marketing campaign has been trying to make clear), which is the film Towne is trying to resurrect here but doesn?t know how. Just picture Colin Farrell trying to be Jack Nicholson, except without getting his nose slit at any point, and without any political intrigue to be investigated, and also without a plot to run on, and you?ve got yourself Robert Towne?s latest.

The film is essentially about a struggling writer (Arturo, played by Farrell) in Los Angeles during the Depression who can?t seem to get any solid writing done in his cooped-up apartment. As a result of his hard personality, he butts heads with a waitress named Camilla (Salma Hayek) ? brash encounters that eventually lead to a relationship. Because he is white and she is a Mexican, racial tension boils between them; if they do get married, it?ll always be an awkward mix given the time period, and she is very insecure about the social image and where her life is going.

The ironic thing about this movie is that it?s about a writer who?s having problems producing material on his typewriter; and as the film plays, one can?t help but draw parallels to Towne?s own struggle for a story. He presents a few issues that could be developed into a fascinating character/profession study, as well as the classic racial divide commentary, but only scratches the surface, making this a rather pointless experience when you really think about it. Nothing of real significance happens throughout the film, and it is filmed in a very low-key manner almost as if it belongs on stage. The depiction of the struggling city life surrounding Arturo is nicely captured, but in terms of character and an emotional arc, Ask the Dust never goes anywhere.

The only real bright point is watching Colin Farrell imitate Jack Nicholson from Chinatown, and he does a pretty good job of it. Throughout, I kept commenting that he?s evidently a good actor, as he takes on the role with such ease and makes the rather stale film-noir dialogue relatively engaging. Salma Hayek is decent but her character is ultimately useless; if you took out their relationship, the movie wouldn?t change, which is a sign of a real mess of a script. Is this film about the hardship of professional survival during the Depression or racial tensions? We never really know, and we get the sense that Towne may not either. The script for this resembles Cameron Crowe?s Elizabethtown in that so many roads could?ve been traveled ? and by the end, you?re just left scratching your head, thinking, ?Was there a story buried in there somewhere?? (And strangely enough, Tom Cruise produced both of these features).

Towne?s clearly still riding off the 30-year-old wave of Chinatown and wants history to repeat itself (still to this day, many claim it is the best screenplay ever written). His next feature is a remake of Hitchcock?s The 39 Steps, another period piece (if it?s not modernized). He has essentially remade Chinatown here without that story?s significance, which is a big mistake, and a sad move.

Lee's Grade: C
Ranked #79 of 177 between Winter Passing (#78) and Failure to Launch (#80) for 2006 movies.

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%