The Aids Movie Without Singing? THE DYING GAUL

I thought I'd take a moment to review this movie that most people probably won't see anyway and just let them know that that's okay... THE DYING GAUL is based on writer/director Craig Lucas's play about young screenwriter who writes a screenplay about his lover who died of AIDS and then must decide whether or not he will allow the studio to change the sex of the character to make it more audience friendly. Sounds like a good premise for a movie right? It is. In fact, the first twenty minutes of this movie are amazing, a perfectly acting tense dialogue between writer Peter Sarsgaard and Studio exec Campbell Scott. And then, Lucas basically forgets what his movie is about. He gets entangeled in a love triangle with Scott's wife, played by Patricia Clarkson. I have rarely been so frustrated with a director ... and so bored with the film that features several scenes of people talking on the phone, reading their email and chatting online. You know, the scene in CLOSER is so good, any other attempt to do that on film is just going to look like a bad copy. The music in the film, I have to mention, is recycled Steven Reich, and while its good to hear Reich's music get some exposure, I couldn't help but think the drag and drop style of sound design (rather than hiring a composer to do a score) is typical of the lack of thought put into this movie. They really dropped the ball on it, and this time there is no one to blame than the writer himself. He got the movie deal he wanted ... is this really the story he wanted to tell and if so why?

THE DYING GAUL is recommended for people who like to watch people talk on the phone, people who want to catch the first twenty minutes of a movie and then go somewhere, anywhere, people who want to see Campbell Scott's ass, and, well, Craig Lucas, cause I guess this is the movie he wanted to make. Rick's Rating: D