RHYTHM THIEF
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.9
Shown at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema Running Length: 1:28 MPAA Classification: Not Rated (Violence, profanity, sex)
Cast: Jason Andrews, Eddie Daniels, Kevin Corrigan, Kimberly Flynn, Sean Hagerty Director: Matthew Harrison Producer: Jonathan Starch Screenplay: Matthew Harrison and Christopher Grimm Cinematography: Howard Krupa Distribution unknown
RHYTHM THIEF, is a real art film-lover's movie. Shot in grainy, 16 mm black-and-white, it's more notable for inventive cinematography and quirky dialogue than for solid plotting or characterization. Matthew Harrison, directing his second feature (his first, SPARE ME -- a "bowling thriller" -- was seen only by friends and family), emphasizes technique over narrative. The story is trite and the characters aren't engaging, but Harrison's efforts can be appreciated on a technical level. He got a lot out of an 11-day shooting schedule and an $11,000 production budget.
The main character is Simon, a New York City streetside dealer of bootlegged cassette tapes. Despite the attempts of Fuller, a local hanger-on, to hook up with him, Simon manages to maintain a one man business. Then, one day, the bodyguards of an all-girl band, 1-900- BOXX, catch Simon taping a concert, track him down, and beat him senseless. This begins a cat-and-mouse game that leads Simon into progressively more dangerous territory, even as he tries to sort out his confused sex life and keep his cat well-fed.
RHYTHM THIEF features some really innovative shots. When Simon is being beaten up, we see the attack from his point-of-view. On another occasion, a scene is photographed from the perspective of a cat's litterbox. Somehow, I don't think that has ever been done before. However, there's only so much to be gleaned from this sort of movie. It's really just a slice-of-life motion picture sheathed in a cinema verite style -- of passing interest, but not the sort of thing I would recommend going out of the way for, and certainly *not* if you don't have a predilection for art-house fare.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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