Magic Of Marciano
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: D Film: B-
Natassia Kinski does an impressive turn as a mentally
disturbed “woman who loves too much” mother who is keeping around bad
boyfriends who hate her and are detrimental to her son James (Cody Morgan) in
writer/director Tony Barbieri’s drama Magic Of Marciano (2000). When Katie (Kinski) could be involved with
Henry (Robert Forster), who is very kind to her son, she instead takes up with
other men for misguided reasons.
To add to the problems, James has a fantasy life of his
own, which helps him cope with the ugly life they leave. With no support from anyone, their situation
gets worse and worse, including a boyfriend who abuses James. Some of this may seem predictable, but it is
the kind of thing that happens in these situations, something that got worse as
social programs were cut back in the 1980s.
Though the film has a fine cast and is done with maturity and
intelligence, it does not always hit the mark.
It is not easy to do a film on this subject matter, but this film is too
polite and politically correct sometimes for its own good, especially at key
moments.
One of the worst is when it looks like the son will shoot
the abusive boyfriend, which turns into a fantasy sequence as a trick without
warning. That is an insult to the
audience and may have lost some viewers that had the film on its side. It seems even the most mature films lower
themselves to some slick moment that bad 1980s cinema made possible. Hopefully, Barbieri will be more restrained
and go further next time he tackles such serious subject matter.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is slightly problematic in
the detail department and color can be odd at times, but Matthew Irving’s
cinematography seems to have 1.85 X 1 in mind and the results are consistent if
not spectacular. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo has decent pro Logic surrounds and is a sign of its Dolby Digital
theatrical release. The music is
simple, and has a few classic hits, while dialogue is clear enough. There are no extras, but the film is worth a
look.
- Nicholas Sheffo
