Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993)
United States 1993 Director: Michael Steinberg
Cast: Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz
Rating: 4 out of 5
The word 'rest' in the title should be stressed since this is a movie that lacks any action scenes at all. What does takes place is more based on character development. The film starts right in the middle of the lives of four people: Nick, Beth, Carol and Sid. What they have done earlier is for the most part only hinted at. Nick and Beth have a relationship and have decided to move from Enfield, Arizona to Butte, Montana. (and I who thought that Butte was pronounced slightly different...) Carol is Nick's ex-girlfriend and Beth's best friend, Sid is a joint-smoking painter that comes to repaint their house before the new tenants move in.
Obviously based on a stage play, the problem with the movie is that there's a lot of things left out. It's not obvious that Nick and Beth are in love with each other, the reason why Nick was fired from his job isn't mentioned. And why Nick suddenly decide to go visit his parents remain a mystery, when he hasn't seen them for many years.
Set in a small (fictional?) town in Arizona was a good move, since this makes the film focus on the four characters and not on their surroundings. The name of the city is not important, this could take place anywhere with four young people in a house discussing life and the future. Particularly impressive is Bridget Fonda as Beth who end up in bed with Sid when her fiance Nick leaves her. Not an actress that I have found interesting earlier or seen many pictures with, but I'll keep an eye on her in the future.
Interesting trivia: this was rated R in the US but rated 'barntillåten' in Sweden wich means that anyone at any age can see it.
Mattias Thuresson mattias.thuresson@mbox300.swipnet.se 980704
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