The funeral of a beloved elder aunt is the catalyst for a family's flat-footed soul searching in the ultra-earnest film ''Constellation.''
February 7, 2007 (Press Release) --
An accomplished cast struggles to elevate material that rarely gets deeper than a daytime soap, though it tries mightily.
As the sophomore feature from screenwriter-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman, ''Constellation'' is a particular disappointment; his 2000 debut, ''The Visit,'' was a potent and affecting drama that announced Hill Harper as a performer of no small talent. Harper delivers some of the best work in ''Constellation,'' but the film remains an ungainly exploration of one family's emotional legacy.
The black Boxers gather in Huntsville, Ala., after the death of Carmel (Gabrielle Union), who 50 years earlier was in love with a white boy, Bear Korngold (Daniel Bess). In the mid-century Deep South, he hadn't the nerve to follow his heart and marry her. In the present day, played by David Clennon with clenched-jaw introspection, he is an unmarried gent who organizes Carmel's funeral.
Only her brother, Helms (Billy Dee Williams), knows Carmel and Bear were at one time more than friends. Now a Paris-based artist, Helms keeps an emotional distance from his two daughters, half-sisters Lucy (Melissa De Sousa) and the flintier Rosa (Zoe Saldana). Rosa, who was especially close to Carmel, must confront her lingering pain over a bad breakup with womanizer Errol (Harper).
The story proceeds fitfully via flashbacks and excruciating psychologizing. Characters repeatedly explain their feelings in dully staged restaurant scenes, while Carmel's narration from death abounds in precious poetic language. With the exception of Harper, Saldana and Williams, the performers look uncomfortable, which is not surprising given the awkward exposition required of them.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY SHERI LINDEN
As the sophomore feature from screenwriter-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman, ''Constellation'' is a particular disappointment; his 2000 debut, ''The Visit,'' was a potent and affecting drama that announced Hill Harper as a performer of no small talent. Harper delivers some of the best work in ''Constellation,'' but the film remains an ungainly exploration of one family's emotional legacy.
The black Boxers gather in Huntsville, Ala., after the death of Carmel (Gabrielle Union), who 50 years earlier was in love with a white boy, Bear Korngold (Daniel Bess). In the mid-century Deep South, he hadn't the nerve to follow his heart and marry her. In the present day, played by David Clennon with clenched-jaw introspection, he is an unmarried gent who organizes Carmel's funeral.
Only her brother, Helms (Billy Dee Williams), knows Carmel and Bear were at one time more than friends. Now a Paris-based artist, Helms keeps an emotional distance from his two daughters, half-sisters Lucy (Melissa De Sousa) and the flintier Rosa (Zoe Saldana). Rosa, who was especially close to Carmel, must confront her lingering pain over a bad breakup with womanizer Errol (Harper).
The story proceeds fitfully via flashbacks and excruciating psychologizing. Characters repeatedly explain their feelings in dully staged restaurant scenes, while Carmel's narration from death abounds in precious poetic language. With the exception of Harper, Saldana and Williams, the performers look uncomfortable, which is not surprising given the awkward exposition required of them.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY SHERI LINDEN
Email
Print
SPAM
LEAVE A COMMENT
