Leo dvd movie.|
Leo cheap dvd videos, dvd movies for sale |
 |
List Price: $7.98 Our Price: $7.98 Features • Color • DVD-Video • NTSC In Theaters : 2002 DVD Release : 18 May, 2004 |
| [ + Zoom ] [ Buy Now ] | DVD : Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
|
| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Sterling Performances |
| "Leo" is intense & highly dramatic. Mehdi Norowzian has his feature directorial debut with this small low-budget picture. However, low budget does not mean low on artistry. Norowzian had been nominated for an Oscar in 1999 for his live action short film "Killing Joe" and has had an extensive career in commercials as the DVD extra interview attests. He does an excellent job of weaving the two story lines together as the audience increasingly becomes aware of how they interrelate. 1998 was Joseph Fiennes' banner year with both "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare In Love" being critical and box-office successes. His portrayal of Martin Luther in 2003's "Luther" was also intense and excellent. As Stephen who is released from prison for murder, we come to know the man who was emotionally abused by his mother and yet who is highly intelligent and has his own sense of morality. We come to see him as both victim and hero, a quite ranging performance. Elizabeth Shue takes on some amazingly complex roles such as the prostitute in "Leaving Las Vegas" that earned her best actress Oscar nomination in 1995. She has also appeared with Kevin Bacon in "The Hollow Man" in 2000 and with Robert DeNiro & Dakota Fanning in this year's "Hide & Seek." As Leo's mother Mary Bloom, we see her as an attractive although emotionally damaged woman who cannot control her own grief without taking it out on her son. As young Leopold, Davis Sweat does a nice job in his film debut. Playwright Sam Shepard does an excellent job as the restaurant owner Vic with his own private demons. His candid interview in the DVD tells us how all of these actors took these roles at scale & were in it for the artistry, not the bucks. He swings a mean baseball bat! Although his appearance is brief, Jake Webber who currently stars in the NBC series "Medium" does a good job as Leopold's father, the college professor Ben. Webber's face is increasingly becoming recognizable although he's previously been in "U571," "The Cell," & "Meet Joe Black." While Mary Bloom believes that her husband has been unfaithful, she takes up with a handyman/painter played by Justin Chambers ("The Wedding Planner") who is as sleazy as he is uncontrolled & dangerous. Dennis Hopper's lone Oscar nomination for acting -- not counting the screenplay of "Easy Rider" -- was in "Hoosiers" in 1986. He dons the role of crazed villain as Horace in this picture. Horace is as unredeemable as Hopper's performance is well executed. Deborah Unger as the waitress Caroline has sass & plays great fear in her backroom confrontation scene with Horace. She has played opposite Denzel Washington in "The Hurricane" and Mel Gibson in "Payback." As Mary Bloom's sister, Mary Stewart Masterson ("Some Kind of Wonderful," "Bed of Roses," "Benny & Joon") does an excellent cameo performance. I found the psychological weaving of the two story lines to be intriguing, well intertwined by Norowzian. Fiennes' performance is the peg around which this story swirls; and his performance is solid sterling. The cinematography is also excellent with some breathtaking shots that frame the story. This is one low-budget flick that is well worth the view. Enjoy! | |
|