Desertman84
Naomi Watts produces and stars in Ellie Parker, a semi-autobiographical story of an Australian actress struggling to make it in Hollywood.Rebecca Rigg,Scott Coffey and Mark Pellegrino co-star.Chevy Chase It was written and directed by Scott Coffey.Ellie is young enough to still schlep to auditions back and forth across L.A., changing wardrobes and slapping on makeup en route, but just old enough that the future feels "more like a threat than a promise." She lives with her vacant musician boyfriend, who leaves her just about as dissatisfied as any other part of her life, and has a loose definition of the word "fidelity." Helping make sense of their surreal and humiliating Hollywood existence is her best friend Sam, another out-of- work actress trying her hand at design, who attends acting classes with she to stay sharp. When she gets into a fender bender with a guy who claims he's a cinematographer, her perspective on her work and the dating world starts to change.The premise is depressing, but there are moments of vaguely uncomfortable hilarity. The whole endeavor, however, winds up feeling flat and a bit dull.Also,despite Naomi Watts' inspired performance, it stutters in making the transition from short to feature length.But nevertheless,her fans will love this low-budget indie film.
drpavlovic1411
A movie doesn't need to be full of action, shooting, love, to be expensive, to be a block buster,..., though I don't like a 'French' school, when two people have enough time and money to be in a single room and make problems to each other. I call t movies 'slow' and 'problematic' without any obvious reason. You see people who are egoistic and bored.A movie can be an extended monologue, if it is totally authentic. If treats tome subject, the live itself as it really is. From the beginning, this movie has a type of wide frame, it is so 'alive', so direct. You see the life without any additional make up, fancy details, you see the life as it is: full of struggle and disappointment, it is the organic part of life, the other moments are happy. The leading character wants to succeed in the world of movie, but it is a hard job, we are the witnesses of dying of her dream and we can see how their life collapse in any aspect, including her love life.People like an ordinary movie, which talk about THEM, about disappointments, hard times, pointless living..., they can relate to it.But, this kind of movies must have some ending, the message. An acceptance or the words of wisdom. This movie has none. Trainspotting, for instance, is pretty entertaining, but generally says how life stinks, whatever we try. The guy is a drug addict, then he tries to work honestly, but his 'past' (his friends) drag them back. But, he finds the solution, he takes the money and go to make an ordinary, but nice, normal life. He had enough strength to go out and live as the other people.Here..., it is nothing but a desperation. Life sucks and that is it. Nothing has learned, grasped, understood, we can't see how the leading actress even she has found the peace..., she is like a white wall, without any feeling,..., this movie says nothing to us. A nice start, which continues through the whole movie..., then..., no messages. Nothing. We can't see that her giving up of the acting really freed her as she says, because the last scene is the opposite: she tries to fulfill her dream, she goes to the last audition, she tries to reach her dream to the last scene. To repeat myself: when the movie is talking about the emptiness of the life, some message must be conveyed. To give up some dreams must be deeply felt and understood, accepted, it must give some additional quality to our lives. To fail, that is not an end. When the house is burned, a Chinese saying says: "Nice, we can see the Moon now, there is no obstacles." This movie is just a pointless struggle which leads to nowhere. It can't entertain, to teach, to say something wise, it is just a half-finished story about the life as it really is, no guaranties, but the final touch.... is a big biiiiiiiiiiiiip...., the movie died before any finish touch. It doesn't need to be a happy end. Just a movie with the proper ending. I gave 4 stars for the realistic picture of the life, but the rest..., is like an unfinished painting.
Gordon-11
This film is about an actress called Ellie Parker, who has to go to various auditions to find work.This film examines the life of wannabe actors before making it big. There are a lot of frustrating times, such as the people auditioning the actors are too drunk or too stoned to notice your effort. However, it pays to be patient! The low budget hurts the film by not having extravagant sets or special effects. Fortunately, it is compensated by Naomi Watts' superb acting skills. The film basically becomes her own one-man film, with her having to carry the whole film all the way. As a result, Naomi Watts is able to showcase her acting talents. She pulls every single expression people can think of, and displays all sorts of emotions within 90 minutes. It is very impressive indeed! This film becomes the portfolio of Naomi Watts' acting skills. if anyone is unconvinced of her acting skills, watch this and you will be indisputably convinced.
gore1234
How could anyone like this self-indulgent, over-rated, bore-fest of a film. Alright, lets start on the technical side of things & then work up to (or should i say down to) the personnel involved. OK. I get it. This is a low budget film. Thats cool. Too many of todays big budget films are diluting the quality of the movie output,year after year,all over the world,not just in Hollywood. I like low budget. Its a more exciting form of film. But this was below the quality you would expect from even the lowest of budgets. I'm not a big fan of DV & this film is the perfect example of why. The scenes are poorly lit, too poorly shot & the sound is at best awful. Surely these are the things that turn cinema into an art form. So why disregard them. Coffey should have spent more time figuring these out instead of figuring out how to get himself on screen. Terrible work all-round. Now onto watts. What was she thinking?. Tour-De-force it ain't. Its over-acting at its worst. She must have taken this role to be "cool" and "hip" but she comes out of it looking the fool and her acting capabilities must forever more be called into question. I know its supposed to be ironic. But she comes off looking desperate to be taken serious as an actor. Its just a bad performance. If i think about it anymore I'm gonna get angry.Look, i know this film has won awards, i know there are people on this site telling you how great this film is. But don't be fooled. This is a perfect case of an industry afraid of critiquing its self. Its as simple as this. This film should never have been released onto the unsuspecting public. The film industry should have had the guts to stand up and say this is not good enough. Go away and do it again. This film lowers the standard of independent films. Its a perfect example of why people refuse to support indie films. I spent my hard earned money to see this. I spent 95mins watching this. Time i could have spent with my loved ones. I got fooled by the reviews. I want my money back. I want those 95mins of my live back. Do not waste your time, money and effort to see this film. It should not be supported. 1 star out of ten is kind. It deserves less but this site doesn't allow that.
