When a movie comes out with massive hype thanks to a famous cast, it’s a good idea to imagine it starring complete unknowns. That’ll answer the question; is it a good movie, or just a good cast?

While none of us should expect actors to decide which movies to do for any reason other than their own satisfaction, some actors come off looking a bit too ‘actorly’. They don’t take on roles to entertain, they take on roles to prove to everyone (including themselves) how good they are.

Since Ledger’s celebrity meltdown he’s come back one of the most acclaimed thesps in the world, and Candy can’t quite rise above his presence.

The story of two kids (Cornish and Ledger) who live on both heroin and each other’s love is an effective fable about the descent into the demons of addiction. Despite grungy suburban settings and design it’s quite beautiful, and where the film bounces between riveting and pretentious, the DVD is the same. While the commentary is down to Earth, the interview with the director and co-writers is self-indulgent.

The cast and their abilities were the only reason to bring the story to the screen, so for students of the acting craft it’s more essential than it is to people who just want to see a good story well told.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 at 9:03 pm and is filed under DVD Reviews, Film, Xpress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.