BODIES, REST & MOTION
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating: 8.1 out of 10 (B, **1/2= out of ****)
Date Released: 5/93 (varies) Running Length: 1:34 Rated: R (Sexual situations, mature themes, language)
Starring: Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz Director: Michael Steinberg Producers: Allan Mindel, Denise Shaw, and Eric Stoltz Screenplay: Roger Hedden Music: Michael Convertino Released by Fine Line Features
BODIES, REST & MOTION begins with Nick (Tim Roth) announcing to his former girlfriend Carol (Phoebe Cates) that he and his lover Beth (Bridget Fonda) are moving from Enfield, Arizona to Butte, Montana. However, a day before the scheduled move, Nick takes off for an unspecified destination without Beth, saying that he needs to be alone to discover himself. Beth, understandably devastated by the sudden abandonment, finds a measure of solace in Sid (Eric Stoltz), a joint-smoking painter who has arrived to prepare her house for the next tenants. What neither of them counts on is his falling in love with her.
For the most part, BODIES, REST & MOTION confines itself to the often converging, occasionally diverging tales of four twenty-something characters over a forty-eight hour span. There is no real beginning--we're sort of dropped in the middle of a scene and asked to pick things up as we go along--and there's certainly no end. It's what's often called a "slice of life" motion picture, with all of the positives and negatives associated with that sort of movie. The characters are the key, with the plot of secondary importance, and what action there is accomplishes little more than to feed us additional information about one of the four protagonists.
Those who like something significant to happen in their movies will find BODIES, REST & MOTION dull and pedantic. It's a small film about people and how they interact. The most momentous thing that happens in the entire film is the theft of a television set, and there's no tension associated with that event. No one would ever mistake BODIES for a source of thrills and excitement.
It's a joy to watch the slow evolution of the relationships. BODIES is virtually cliche-free for both dialogue and characters. As far as the audience is concerned, these are real people struggling with the same kind of every-day problems and decisions that many of us face. This is not an escapist film, but one invested with an unusually intelligent and incisive perspective on human motivation. There are several instances when the characters get too psychological in their introspection, uttering implausibly-convoluted lines, but other than that, much of this picture is on-target, at least as far as character insight is concerned.
BODIES has an unusual structure, switching back and forth between characters with no apparent reason. There are a few rather bizarre sequences (such as Nick's stop at the Native American-owned gas station, his trip to his parents' house, and the second meeting of Sid and Beth) which contribute to the atypical tone. The movie isn't extreme enough to be considered weird, but "offbeat" is an accurate description.
Finally, Phoebe Cates gets a chance to play an adult role. After giving respectable performances in films like GREMLINS and DROP DEAD FRED, Ms. Cates has at last been cast as a real, three-dimensional person. In a movie that boasts the names of Stoltz, Fonda, and Roth, Cates outshines her co-stars, investing Carol with energy and life.
I did not like the ending. In general, while a movie doesn't have to neatly wrap up all the loose ends, I prefer there to be some indication of completion. BODIES, REST & MOTION has none. The credits come up suddenly, with no previous warning that the movie is about to end. Until the first name rolled from the bottom of the screen, I was sure there was at least ten minutes of footage left. Admittedly, this is a personal preference, since real life often leaves us hanging, and undoubtedly there are some who will love the abruptness of the picture's conclusion.
BODIES, REST & MOTION is a movie for those who like uncomplicated stories about real-seeming characters. There's a lot of motion (hence, the title), but little happens outside the ongoing self-discovery of the four main characters. In an era when many motion pictures are going for "big", it's nice to see well-known actors in a "small" film like this.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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