Living Out Loud
[3.0/4.0]
It is possible to be surrounded by people and yet still be alone. That is what happens to Judith (Holly Hunter). Since divorcing her unfaithful husband, she is isolated in her New York high rise apartment. Her usual social group was shared by her ex-husband, and because of that link, she avoids contact with those people. The only outside activity she engages in is attending a nightclub to hear her favorite Jazz singer, Liz Baily (Queen Latifah). Judith's divorce has been devastating, but it also offers her a new beginning. Whereas she had been putting all of her energy into her troubled marriage, she now can focus solely on herself. She even thinks about pursuing the medical career that she had abandonded for her husband. However, she is mostly lost and unsure of where she is and where she is headed.
The doorman in her Judith's building, Pat (Danny DeVito), is also a kindred spirit. His adolescent daughter has just died from cancer, and he has been long since estranged from his wife. She threw him out because of his restlessness. He has racked up large gambling debts, and he does not settle into a meaningful job (like working for his brother who inherited a bar) because he feels he destined for bigger things. He is also blindly groping his way through a lonely life.
The film is about the two characters, and their relationship with each other. He is attracted to her, but obviously she will not initially be attracted to the older, short, balding, rotund man. If this were a stereotypical story, the focus of the film would be about how the underdog fights to win the romantic attention of the object of his affection. However, this is an intelligent drama with much more depth. (Their relationship has similarities to that of Esmeralda and Quasimodo, from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".) Although it is not completely successful in drawing a total coherent picture, it is engaging and avoids predictability.
DeVito gives a typically superb performance as the confident but vulnerable Pat. Although the character of Liz Bailey is underwritten and could have been better utilized, Queen Latifah does a commendable job with the role. Hunter has a difficult job in playing such a nuanced character. Judith is at different times devastated, terrified, emboldened, and introspective. Although the scripted evolution of the character is sometimes awkward, Hunter is able to keep the character believable.
The film has its share of flaws. Judith's furtive attempt at a new romance is rather nonsensical. Her friendship with Liz seems improbable. Pat's suggested background does not match the character represented on screen. That is, it is not understandable why his wife would have thrown him out. Judith's husband is unilaterally sinister, but fortunately has minimal screen time. Also, the epilogue is superfluous because it presents the characters in exactly the state in which the viewer would have guessed. The film utilizes an interesting technique of presenting Judith's mental projections against her reality, so that the viewer can contrast she how dreams her life to be and how she actually lives it, but this is initially overused and then abruptly abandoned.
Despite its problems, the story is still enjoyable. Judith undergoes a rebirth and she reclaims her independence, and the transformance is realistically achieved in small steps. There are no melodramatic climaxes or twists that try to overstate the problems and solutions of the characters. The story always remains subdued and focused.
Recommended. Although it cannot seamlessly join the different parts into a fully coherent result, the film laudably attempts to avoid formulas and present an intelligent examination of kindred spirits.
(c) 1999 Murali Krishnan The Art House Squatter http://ArtHouseSquatter.com
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