LIMBO (M). (Screen Gems/Columbia Tristar) Director: John Sayles Stars: David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Vanessa Martinez, Kris Kristofferson, Casey Siemaszko, Leo Burmeister Running time: 127 minutes.
Limbo is both a metaphorical and a physical state for the central characters of this new drama from John Sayles, one of America's most idiosyncratic yet prolific independent film makers. His most expensive film to date (with a budget of $8 million), Limbo is a subtle, yet intelligent and sedately paced character study that explores themes of isolation, survival and redemption.
The film is set in Port Henry, an Alaskan fishing town that is about to lose its main source of income, thus throwing it into a state of economic limbo. In the film's first hour, Sayles introduces us to this picturesque town and its rich tapestry of life. He tracks its eccentric inhabitants through the busy social fabric of this remote outpost, where people have been known to go mad and murder people just to relieve the boredom of the long, frozen winter months.
But the central narrative thread of this subtle, gentle character-driven drama is the developing romance between two emotionally scarred people, who exist in their own sort of limbo within the town itself.
Joe Gastineau (played by Sayles regular David Strathairn) has been dealt some harsh blows in the past and approaches life with a sense of reserve and caution. At college he was a talented basketball player with a bright future until a crippling knee injury forced him to give up the game. Years later a tragic fishing accident left two people dead, and Joe has not been on a boat since. He now works as a handyman, performing odd jobs around the town.
Donna De Angelo (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, from Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, etc) is a night club singer with an unlucky track record of boy friends. Her daughter Noelle (Vanessa Martinez) is solitary, melancholy and withdrawn, and resentful of her mother's lifestyle. Slowly, Joe and Donna form a relationship that brings some spark back into their lives.
Then Joe makes a fateful decision to go on a boat trip with his younger, irresponsible half brother Bobby (Casey Siemaszko). Events take a violent turn when some men with guns board the boat and kill Bobby. Joe, Donna and Noelle escape and manage to swim ashore to an isolated and remote island. Trapped with little hope of rescue, the three form a strong bond shaped by a desire for survival. Sayles injects some psychological tension into the film as the three struggle to cope with their inhospitable environment.
It is here that Sayles also pulls off his most annoying director's trick yet - he finishes the film abruptly with a non-ending that leaves the three facing an uncertain fate - abandoning them in a state of limbo, as it were. The screen suddenly fades to black and the credits roll, leaving audiences to finish the film for themselves. If the technology was available, Limbo would be the first film with an interactive ending in which audiences could vote for the way they would want it to end. Instead, audiences emerge from the cinema heatedly discussing this deliberately ambiguous conclusion. It's an effective gambit from Sayles, and marks Limbo as one of his more interesting movies.
The title has many meanings within the context of this intriguing film. The writing is typically strong, and Sayles beautifully captures the warm emotional journey of the well-developed, three dimensional characters. He also subtly depicts the inherent dangers of this savage and remote wilderness location.
Sayles draws strong performances from his cast, and the audience develops an empathy with them and their plight. Strathairn brings a wonderfully haunted and vulnerable air to his understated performance here, while Mastrantonio initially has a brassy confident persona that hides her own vulnerability and emotional pain. The nicely laid back Kris Kristofferson brings an ambivalent quality to his small role as a pilot who "shares a past" with Joe.
Limbo is a richly rewarding experience, but it's also at times a frustrating film that sticks in the mind long after the credits have finished!
*** greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking
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