fanfilm22
This is an Awesome Film with in a Film. Buschemi is very good playing the lead role as we usually see him playing cameo roles. If you are a film maker like myself I would recommend watching this film, other films similar to this such as The Independent, Bowfinger and the small indie film's American Movie and Le Fear hold weight in this genre, however Liing in Oblivion has to edge it for me and has it all when it comes to films in this genre, it also has a back story which makes it more interesting as both lead actors Catherine Keener and James LeGros have a fling and the atmosphere on set is intense. my rating for this movie is 8 out of 10.
geminiredblue
Having spent the better half of the last 7 years working on both sides of the camera, I can sympathize with filmmakers and actors. Most people have this mistaken notion that "All you have to do is push a button and act a little here and there." But that is not the case at all. Whenever the camera is rolling and the director calls "ACTION", practically anything could happen... and often does! What's so great about LIVING IN OBLIVION is that Tom DiCillo turns the camera around and shows us what really happens behind the scenes. And nothing is spared. We get to see the odd mix of nerves, ennui, exhaustion, desperation, disappointments, and surprises, deftly handled with a comedic touch. Steve Buscemi (who is no stranger to directing) gives his best performance as Nick Reve, the quirky director who tries to keep everything from falling apart. And if ever a struggling filmmaker needed some inspiration, this movie would grant it! For anyone thinking of making a movie, I'd highly recommend watching this movie and "American Movie" on a double bill!
eddiez61
Small, low budget films hold a special place in many film goer's hearts. We embrace them as our own special offspring. It's an irrational attachment we have for them, like kidnapping our neighbor's child. But cinema, apparently, is some sort of expression of our collective desire to be acknowledged, to be contributing to the public conversation. That's a bizarre, absurd role to demand of independent films, of any film, but that's the weird world we've been born into, isn't it? The ignored, unnoticed independent film is often the container and conveyor of our most salient, real desires. Frustration and anxiety are palpable, ever present qualities of modern life, and low budget films should not be exempt. Tom DiCillo has incorporated these discomforting, disturbing qualities into his poignantly absurd film. The production of the film within the film is at the mercy of unpredictable, arbitrary forces, like malfunctioning smoke machines, incompetent crew members, emotionally distracted actors, and just plain bad luck. Nothing is as effortless and perfect as it is in the "real" movies. This revelation elevates this film into the realm of essential; essential for anyone who is considering making their own independent low budget film, and essential for any fan of quality non Studio, non mega budget films.That it can be so impossible just getting a single scene "into the can" — the expression for capturing on film a worthwhile moment — is a potent metaphor for all our own endeavors. We are continually assaulted with the infinite demands of our mundane lives but are so wiling to sacrifice so much of our precious time to the act of getting it just right, whatever "it" may be. We need to be succeeding at something, anything, in order to feel worthy. And maniacal persistence is the indispensable means to success. However, it's usually a non productive hobby, past time or diversion that occupies us so insistently.Living in Oblivion is a rare opportunity to examine this impulse of ours to perfect relatively minor, inconsequential things. The conceit of the film is that we, the audience, like to believe that we are above and beyond such tedious, temporal concerns, yet we are equally, undeniably fascinated by the intricacies of the "inner" film's creation. "How would I do it?" is a question that frames every scene. But our involvement is irrelevant. That's the paradox at this film's core. That's the ultimate message here, that we, the audience, are inconsequential. That might sound bleak and morose to some, but I found it deeply satisfying. I am not responsible, in the end, for this film's success. I am only watching.Tom DiCillo has earned a reputation as an iconoclast, as a rebel, as an anti establishment defender of the individual. I'm not sure just how justified is this reputation - he has lately directed arguably crappy TV such as Law and Order - but still, he proves himself a potent source of genuinely profound insights in this film. You will learn what it feels like to be an ambitious, hopeful, idealistic artist working in a crass, indifferent, commercial world. That's a rare treat.The fact that Steve Buschemi, Katherine Keener, and Dermot Mulroney are so wonderfully natural is proof that Dicillo has golden instincts. We are granted access to these artist's most transcendent talents. I've seen them all in many different, fantastic roles, but here they are at their absolute best, their most real. That's a quality that nearly all films aspire too, but so very few achieve. Enjoy this film for this commendable fact along with the knowledge that it's nearly impossible to make a film like this today or ever again. (David Lynch did it in 2006 with his Inland Empire which has been ignored by the general film going public. It's a monumentally original, powerful, revolutionary film experience. Charlie Kaufman also accomplished a tremendous feat of originality with his phenomenal Synecdoche, NY from 2008. Both films are subtle expressions of artistic desire in the face of a coldly indifferent, if not outright maliciously violent culture.)
