When I saw the trailer for The Good Night, I was genuinely interested. I didn’t expect it to reach a Gone with the Wind level of quality, but it looked entertaining and the premise seemed interesting. The movie follows the life of Gary Shaller (Martin Freeman, of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame), former keyboarder of a one-hit wonder band who now writes commercial jingles for a living.
He is dissatisfied with his job and with his girlfriend, Dora (Gwyneth Paltrow). Now, here’s where the film first stumbles. Dora is mean and disinterested in Gary’s needs or desires. This would all be fine and good if she had a redeeming quality to balance that (Or if she was mean and fabulous. Yes, James is not the only one with a diva fetish.). Dora is simply too drab and uninspiring to add anything to the film. Adding to Gary’s uninspiring world is his former bandmate and friend, Paul (Simon Pegg, brilliant in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead), who provides much of the film’s comic relief with his uncaring and outrageous attitude.
Gary begins to have dreams about a beautiful woman named Anna (Penelope Cruz). Unable to shake the memory of her the next morning, Gary seeks out a lucid dream enthusiast, Mel (Danny DeVito), who coaches him in achieving lucid, sustained dreams where he can meet Anna. DeVito surprised me with how amusing (not funny, merely amusing) he was with such a small role. That said, his character was mostly used as a plot point and nothing more. He does, however, have a nice scene where Gary realizes through a converstaion with Mel that he is pretty much looking at his future self if he doesn't do something immediately.
Gary then meets a woman who looks exactly like Anna. Against his expectations, the woman, Melodía, has a behavior and style that are very different from Anna’s, and he becomes disappointed in her. Here I was expecting some light comedy illustrating the contrast between his dreams and the real world and for him to eventually overcome this and leave his tedious existence behind with Melodía by his side. Instead that plot point is completely abandoned and the film goes in a completely different direction.
This movie could’ve been a simple enough romantic comedy with some dark comedy undertones, but thanks to an intriguing (if at times uninspired) script, the movie manages to provide insightful commentary about the nature of dreams and how they relate to our lives and expectations. The visuals, as previously stated, are great at times and above average the rest of the time. The dream sequences, with their cold lighting and lush locales, provide a nice contrast to the warm and earthy tones of the real world, where the dull look has been thoroughly accomplished. All of this, however, is not able to save the film from unlikeable characters and the poor execution provided by first time director Jake Paltrow. I know, I know; Francis Ford Coppola wants his nepotism back (Yes, I'm putting the decision to cast Gwyneth up there with the Sofia decision). Although, now that I think about it, maybe it's not so much nepotism as a sibling passive-agressive attack. Gwyneth is so boring, mean and plain-looking here it sure doesn't feel like her brother's paying her any favors. Even for a first-timer, Paltrow makes a mess out of what, otherwise, might've been a pretty decent film (though still not as great as the ones it was trying to immitate id est, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep).
Overall, I could recommend watching The Good Night based on the visuals alone (Yes, I'm a lighting fanatic.), but that would be misleading. Instead, I recommend watching this film and enjoying the visuals and sets if you have nothing better to do that day. It is not a worthless film, but I'm sure you can score something better at your local video rental place.
I give it: *1/2
He is dissatisfied with his job and with his girlfriend, Dora (Gwyneth Paltrow). Now, here’s where the film first stumbles. Dora is mean and disinterested in Gary’s needs or desires. This would all be fine and good if she had a redeeming quality to balance that (Or if she was mean and fabulous. Yes, James is not the only one with a diva fetish.). Dora is simply too drab and uninspiring to add anything to the film. Adding to Gary’s uninspiring world is his former bandmate and friend, Paul (Simon Pegg, brilliant in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead), who provides much of the film’s comic relief with his uncaring and outrageous attitude.
Gary begins to have dreams about a beautiful woman named Anna (Penelope Cruz). Unable to shake the memory of her the next morning, Gary seeks out a lucid dream enthusiast, Mel (Danny DeVito), who coaches him in achieving lucid, sustained dreams where he can meet Anna. DeVito surprised me with how amusing (not funny, merely amusing) he was with such a small role. That said, his character was mostly used as a plot point and nothing more. He does, however, have a nice scene where Gary realizes through a converstaion with Mel that he is pretty much looking at his future self if he doesn't do something immediately.
Gary then meets a woman who looks exactly like Anna. Against his expectations, the woman, Melodía, has a behavior and style that are very different from Anna’s, and he becomes disappointed in her. Here I was expecting some light comedy illustrating the contrast between his dreams and the real world and for him to eventually overcome this and leave his tedious existence behind with Melodía by his side. Instead that plot point is completely abandoned and the film goes in a completely different direction.
This movie could’ve been a simple enough romantic comedy with some dark comedy undertones, but thanks to an intriguing (if at times uninspired) script, the movie manages to provide insightful commentary about the nature of dreams and how they relate to our lives and expectations. The visuals, as previously stated, are great at times and above average the rest of the time. The dream sequences, with their cold lighting and lush locales, provide a nice contrast to the warm and earthy tones of the real world, where the dull look has been thoroughly accomplished. All of this, however, is not able to save the film from unlikeable characters and the poor execution provided by first time director Jake Paltrow. I know, I know; Francis Ford Coppola wants his nepotism back (Yes, I'm putting the decision to cast Gwyneth up there with the Sofia decision). Although, now that I think about it, maybe it's not so much nepotism as a sibling passive-agressive attack. Gwyneth is so boring, mean and plain-looking here it sure doesn't feel like her brother's paying her any favors. Even for a first-timer, Paltrow makes a mess out of what, otherwise, might've been a pretty decent film (though still not as great as the ones it was trying to immitate id est, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep).
Overall, I could recommend watching The Good Night based on the visuals alone (Yes, I'm a lighting fanatic.), but that would be misleading. Instead, I recommend watching this film and enjoying the visuals and sets if you have nothing better to do that day. It is not a worthless film, but I'm sure you can score something better at your local video rental place.
I give it: *1/2
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