- Review: John Wick 3 (C)
Scott Sycamore - Weekend Box Office
May 17 - 19 - Crowd Reports
Avengers: Endgame - Us
Box office comparisons - Review: Justice League (C)
Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Silver City
By Craig Younkin Published September 25, 2004
US Release: September 17, 2004
Directed by: John Sayles
Starring: Maria Bello , Thora Birch , David Clennon , Chris Cooper
R
Running Time: 129 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $1,017,376
Directed by: John Sayles
Starring: Maria Bello , Thora Birch , David Clennon , Chris Cooper
R
Running Time: 129 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $1,017,376
C-
A long, uninteresting slog through one explanation after another of corrupt land deals and other scams that have come to pass.
John Sayles is a unique filmmaker in that you usually never see someone take a stance on real life issues. He always sides with the common man, but no one writes a more compelling argument or an impacting ensemble of characters as he does. His new movie, Silver City, is a different story: it has an argument, one that becomes as crystal clear as the Rockies (the film even takes place in Colorado) within a couple minutes, but what this movie lacks is heart.
At the center of this story is Dickie Pillager (Chris Cooper), a war dodging mama?s boy who can barely put two sentences together just coasting by on his father?s coattails (remind you of any one?). He is running for Governor of Colorado and he appears to be a shoe in, considering his dad (Michael Murphy) is a Colorado senator. Only bad PR visits Mr. Pillager while shooting a campaign commercial on the beach when his fishing line hooks on to a dead corpse floating in the water.
His campaign manager, Chuck Raven (Richard Dreyfuss), immediately expects foul play and hires an investigator, Danny (Danny Huston), to go down the list of Pillager detractors. Included is a radio talk show host (Miguel Ferrer, in one of the films few good performances), an old miner, and even Pillager's sister (Daryl Hannah), who is the black sheep of the family.
The ads for Silver City play it as a satire on the current administration, but it is far from it. This movie is really about corporate greed, or more aptly putting it, speeches about corporate greed. It's a long slog through one explanation after another of corrupt land deals and other scams that have come to pass, all having to do with the Bush's err... Pillagers. Sayles has many good points here which are developed with intelligence and accuracy, but making points is all this movie does. As far as taking jabs at this administration and establishing a compelling drama and murder mystery, this movie surprisingly stays in first gear. It doesn't take long before it lulls you to sleep.
The other big problem is that the film is densely overpopulated. Sayles turns out a new essential character every scene, and they don?t add much to the experience. All of the characters seem very one-dimensional, especially Cooper, doing an SNL-sketch version of George Bush's mannerisms and speech. The rest of them are separated into little guys (the good guy whistle blower, migrant workers) and the big guys who crush them (land developers); they all couldn't be more clear-cut, and neither could the movie.
At the center of this story is Dickie Pillager (Chris Cooper), a war dodging mama?s boy who can barely put two sentences together just coasting by on his father?s coattails (remind you of any one?). He is running for Governor of Colorado and he appears to be a shoe in, considering his dad (Michael Murphy) is a Colorado senator. Only bad PR visits Mr. Pillager while shooting a campaign commercial on the beach when his fishing line hooks on to a dead corpse floating in the water.
His campaign manager, Chuck Raven (Richard Dreyfuss), immediately expects foul play and hires an investigator, Danny (Danny Huston), to go down the list of Pillager detractors. Included is a radio talk show host (Miguel Ferrer, in one of the films few good performances), an old miner, and even Pillager's sister (Daryl Hannah), who is the black sheep of the family.
The ads for Silver City play it as a satire on the current administration, but it is far from it. This movie is really about corporate greed, or more aptly putting it, speeches about corporate greed. It's a long slog through one explanation after another of corrupt land deals and other scams that have come to pass, all having to do with the Bush's err... Pillagers. Sayles has many good points here which are developed with intelligence and accuracy, but making points is all this movie does. As far as taking jabs at this administration and establishing a compelling drama and murder mystery, this movie surprisingly stays in first gear. It doesn't take long before it lulls you to sleep.
The other big problem is that the film is densely overpopulated. Sayles turns out a new essential character every scene, and they don?t add much to the experience. All of the characters seem very one-dimensional, especially Cooper, doing an SNL-sketch version of George Bush's mannerisms and speech. The rest of them are separated into little guys (the good guy whistle blower, migrant workers) and the big guys who crush them (land developers); they all couldn't be more clear-cut, and neither could the movie.
Craig's Grade: C-
Craig's Overall Grading: 340 graded movies
| A | 10.9% | |
| B | 41.8% | |
| C | 31.8% | |
| D | 15.3% | |
| F | 0.3% |
