THE FIVE SENSES ---------------
A massage therapist entrusts her teenage daughter to entertain a client's young child, but the little girl wanders off while Rachel spies on a lovemaking couple. Down the hall, music-loving optometrist Richard yearns for his own little girl while facing declining hearing. Upstairs, Rona makes speciality cakes that are tasteless while her Italian holiday fling, who arrives unexpectedly, cooks up a storm as he pitches woo. Rona's ex, Robert is meeting with all his (mostly male) ex-lovers, looking for the scent of love that may still linger in "The Five Senses."
LAURA:
"The Five Senses" begins as Anna Miller (Molly Parker, "Kissed") emerges from a depravation chamber. She's under the sensitive care of Ruth (Gabrielle Rose, "The Sweet Hereafter"), who's trying to make sense of her alien daughter Rachel (Nadia Litz), a high school dropout. Rona (Mary-Louise Parker) is trying to learn Italian from cassettes even before she knows Roberto (Marco Leonardi) is on his way. Robert (Daniel MacIvor), who makes his living cleaning, warns Rona about Roberto's motives while wishing himself into the lives of a married client couple (she produces perfumes, natch).
This bleak Canadian film seems influenced by both Egoyan (star Rose and the theme of a missing child) and Kieslowski (people interconnecting by chance), yet its own theme remains muddled. Just what is writer/director Jeremy Podeswa trying to say here?
The somber score and shadowy, mauve urban look (cinematography by Greg Middleton) help maintain an even tone, yet the film's characters mostly achieve no enlightenment. Rachel meets oddball Rupert (Brendan Fletcher), a young man who's as much an outsider as she. Their blossoming friendship aids Rachel's relationship with her mother and seemingly benefits little Amy Lee Miller (Elise Francis Stolk) as well. Yet while Rona is inspired to attempt to make a good cake by Roberto, the distrust embedded by Robert keeps her from seeing the truly lovely things he attempts to do for her. Robert finally finds the scent of love in a place he didn't even know he wanted to find it, only to be left bereft and maybe lonelier than he was before his quest. Richard (Philippe Volter) plays lots of classical music while reinitiating an old affair, but the script pretty much leaves his character stranded, less connected than the rest.
The actors fare about as well as their characters' fates, with Rose and Litz bringing nice emotional depth to their work. In a subplot, we learn via Rupert, (an interesting turn from Fletcher), that Rachel believes herself a death curse ever since the death of her father when he was killed driving to pick her up from a school mishap. (This is strengthened when a fly on a windowpane falls dead as she approaches.) Also strong is MacIvor as Robert, sympathetic in his attempt to connect while remaining pragmatic about his less-than-movie-star looks. No one else in the cast makes much of an impression.
"The Five Senses" is an interesting, moody little film, yet it doesn't linger. In the realm of these senses, all becomes muffled.
C+
ROBIN:
The five senses - sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing - are the grist for the independent filmmaking mill of director/wrter Jeremy Podeswa. His story takes place in the city where the lives of the film's characters will cross because of a single, fateful event. Massage therapist Ruth (Gabrielle Rose) is treating Anna Miller (Molly Parker) when Ruth's daughter Rachel (Nadia Litz) loses Anna's pre-school daughter Amy Lee (Elise Francis Stolk) in the park. Rachel meets Rupert (Brendan Fletcher), a young voyeur (sight). Robert (Daniel MacIvor) is a professional housecleaner who claims he can detect the scent of love (smell). A custom cake maker, Rona (Mary-Louise Parker) has lost her ability to taste. Finally, Richard (Philippe Volter), an older man, is suffering from deteriorating hearing. The paths of all of these, and other, people, will cross in Podeswa's ensemble film, "The Five Senses."
This symbolic assigning of each of the senses to a story character is held together with the binding dilemma of the missing little Amy Lee Miller. The little girl's disappearance impacts all of the principles to varying degrees as they, each, cope with the daily problems of life. For some, like Anna and Ruth, the crisis is nearly devastating as the time drags by and the search for the little girl spreads and hope for her recovery dims. For Rachel, who blames herself not only for the disappearance, but also for her father's death years before, it is another reason for her teen angst. Others, too, are impacted by the crisis hitting so close to home.
Helmer Podeswa uses his large ensemble cast to provide a slice of life-in-crisis look at some average Joes in New York. He mostly succeeds in telling each person's tale and letting us, the viewer, have a glimpse into their lives. We don't, though, build up any empathy for the individuals as the story moves, briskly, from one player to the next. There is some interesting stuff going on, but I never could embrace any of the characters.
"The Five Senses" is an interesting exercise in ensemble filmmaking and storytelling, but does not involve the audience in the emotions of the events. Though the crisis involves a missing little girl, there is no sense of danger for the child. Some effort is given to building a minor plot line that introduces witnesses who say she left the park with "a man," but there is little time given to the discouragement and frustration of the searchers.
Writer/director Podeswa tells us his story in a lean, concise manner. There isn't a lot of fat to the plot and the scripter efficiently ties up all the story threads in a neat ending. There is talent in the work, but a more fully realized story and fewer characters would make for a better movie. I give "The Five Senses" a C.
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laura@reelingreviews.com robin@reelingreviews.com
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