Film Review: "The Canyons"

I finally got to see this 2013 Lindsay Lohan flick written by Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Paul Schrader. Am not gonna lie, it is indeed a mess, but a very beautiful mess. It's like a train wreck that you can't get your eyes off. It's like a disaster movie but without the state-of-the-art special effects instead we are treated to a spectacle where the people themselves are heading to their own inevitable disasters --- and aided brilliantly by a carefully designed disaster of a film.

"The Canyons" was heavily panned and derided by many critics when it came out but I think this is the kind of movie that needs time and proper perspective.

I believe the important key to watch this movie and to enjoy it is to let it grow on you. Don't resist the campiness of the plot or the horrible performances. Those are essential to the kind of movie that the filmmakers are trying to make: an homage to the soft core porn movies of the 70s. I love the way it was photographed and it's the only thing that was done purposely right, which i reckon is to remind the audience that the talents behind the movie are well-respected and multi-awarded artists.

The overall look and feel of the movie is something that you would find in the midnight movies selection at a film festival. Cheap and amateurish, but hell, it is fun!

This movie would not have premiered at the Venice Film Festival if it was truly awful.

Rating: 4 Stars

XXX
Raymond Lo