Ask The Dust
Picture: B-
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C-
Robert Towne is one of those great writers that has an
amazing reputation and has occasionally stepped behind the camera to direct his
own work. Like David Mamet, however,
the results have been oddly mixed and Ask The Dust is such a film. The film stars Colin Farrell as down on his
luck writer Arturo Bandini in Los Angeles, a favorite Towne locale, during the
Depression. He has checked into a hotel
and is trying to write his next great, or at least profitable work. He meets some characters here and there,
including a burned out neighbor (Donald Sutherland) who helps him steal milk.
Things change when he meets a sexy waitress (Salma Hayek)
who butts heads with him in her workplace when he gets something they call
coffee but does not look very drinkable.
Eventually, they become involved and things heat up, but that
relationship and the screenplay by Towne never really click. I give the actors credit for being boldly
nude and sexy without being sleazy, but it ultimately is a slight highlight in
a film that feels like The Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink on downers. We never get true insight on the characters,
location, era, Depression, writing process or characters. Instead, you get a mood piece that never
finds itself. He leads may never be in
better physical shape, though, I guess.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is shot by one
of the best cinematographers in the business, Caleb Deschanel, A.S.C., making
the film goods looking. This translates
well in enough in the DVD transfer, but has so much subtle detail that it will
take HD-DVD and Blu-ray versions to really capture what he and Towne were
aiming for. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
has just enough in the surrounds to be interesting, though this movie is often
still quiet and dialogue based, including inner-thought voiceovers by
Farrell. Extras include a decent
Towne/Deschanel audio commentary, making of featurette and original theatrical trailer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
