Wicker ParkThe truth will set you free. Sort of.
I apologize. I watched this movie something like a month ago and am only now getting around to writing a review. A lot of my immediate reactions have become vague and confused as a result. Still, it'd be a shame not to make some attempt at a write-up, because I felt so strongly about what I saw.
Wicker Park is a romantic movie. It's incredibly cynical about human relationships, as most romantics are, but still hopeful and giddy with the transcendent power of love. Whether or not it earns that "thesis" the way it tries to is questionable, but at no point does the sentiment of... loving being in love ever feel disingenuous. The movie itself is another matter.
It's a remake of the French film
L'Appartement. How much it owes to its predecessor I can't say. It claims to be "shot on-location in Quebec and Chicago," which confuses me, since as far as I can tell the entire story takes place in one city (
), which I believe is Chicago -- though maybe I missed something. Arrgh, not off to a good start with the trying to work through the muddled impressions thing, am I?
Anywhat, Josh Hartnett plays Matthew, a young go-getter in the corporate world. He has a fiancée, a promising job, and a relatively easy existence; a vague set of ambitions, working towards that perfect "moment," perhaps, that is the culmination of all his work. Then, one day, while in a video store, he sees
her: a dancer named Lisa, played by Diane Kruger. And he abandons all of that. He's instantly smitten. There's something about her that immediately fills up his entire world, that pulls it into hers and makes him revolve around her. He has to see her, he has to know her. Being connected to her, in some way, makes his own life seem better. And so, when she should drop into a friend's (Luke, played by Matthew Lillard) shoe store in order to browse, he does something desperate: he undertakes an act of deception (which, by the way, is a Big Theme in this movie). Asking his friend for this favor, Hartnett pretends to be an employee at the shoe store in order to get his flirt on with the pretty girl. And it pays off: soon they're in the middle of a passionate relationship -- despite the aforementioned spoken-for-ness that Hartnett's character's got going on. It's foolish and maybe even a little irresponsible, but that's how badly Matthew wants to be with her. And then, one day, Lisa suddenly goes missing -- no warning sign, no heads-up, minimal clues -- and he does even more desperate things in order to find her again. It is at this point in the film that Alex (Rose Byrne) walks into his life.
Although Josh Hartnett toplined all of its promotional materials, and although he and Diane Kruger got the lion's share of the previews,
Wicker Park is, in my opinion, Rose Byrne's film. She plays Alex, and she is in this movie just as much, if not more, than Josh Hartnett. What's more, her character is far more dynamic. Alex is a lonely, somewhat-depressive actress who's currently landed a supporting role in a theatre production of one of Shakespeare's plays (don't remember which one, sorry
). She lives in l'appartement with Lisa, but runs into Josh Hartnett by happenstance on the street. And... she's smitten (sounds familiar, doesn't it?). It's like a crush, really: she's infatuated with him and, in her lonely way, thinks that loving him validates her. So she begins a stalker-ship with him, sort of, watching him from afar. At first, anyway. At the same time, she begins dating his friend Luke. I haven't been able to figure out whether she had ulterior motives with Luke from the outset or whether it was just a coincidence that he was the other guy's best bro, but in any case, her relationship with the shoe guy helps her get closer to Matthew. She then proceeds to engage in a little deception of her own, manipulating Lisa's disappearance (it's entirely tame, no salacious kidnappings or anything of the sort) and taking up residence in her apartment. She assumes (correctly) that Matthew will go looking for Lisa, and when he does he'll find her instead. They develop a quasi-relationship that neither is entirely comfortable with, but that Alex tries desperately to maintain, frantically juggling relationships with the other three leads in order to keep them together. Her tangled web eventually falls apart at a climactic restaurant scene, and Alex is forced to reveal the truth to her real boyfriend and her imaginary one. And, of course, Matthew and Lisa are re-united at the end -- though he does have to ditch that pesky fiancée first (I know that sounds kind of glib considering, but it is one of the areas of the film that I had a problem with, which I'll get to later).
What fascinates me about the movie is how it handles the concept of love. This is what I think it posits: Matthew and Alex are both in love with other characters. And you can almost
feel that rush of love that they feel. It completes them. It makes them feel better. But it is a selfish love. And an idealized love, at that; they enhance the attractive qualities of their objects of infatuation ...and of themselves in the process (because they are in love with perfection, as they see it). When they have the chance to get closer to their respective crushes, they lie about themselves to so, glossing ovoer whatever personal attributes they find unattractive so that they may become deserving in their own eyes of that grand, perfect "moment," that feeling of love. Of course, they both lie to and arguably mistreat their would-be paramours throughout.
That aforementioned restaurant scene where all the cards are laid out on the table climaxes with this line:
"You know... sometimes, when you see something from afar, you develop a fantasy about it. But then, when you see it up close, 9 times out of 10, you wish you hadn't."
Which is the twistiest point of the movie. Josh Hartnett's character utters that line, but is he talking about people who deceive you, or people who you idealize? And, as he says it to Alex, who's no more culpable than he is, who exactly is he referring to, and for what reason? It's complicated stuff. Or it was for me, at least, but part of that could be because I relate to the character of Alex more than I do the character of Matthew. But maybe what it is, is that he's trying to tell Alex that he's not the perfect guy she seems to think he is, and that deceiving herself into believing otherwise is unhealthy. And maybe this brings him to the realization that he's been doing the exact same thing.
The message of the movie seems to be: be truthful. It may not be the easiest way to enter a relationship, but it's the easiest way to enter the right one. Everyone has flaws, but that doesn't mean they're undeserving of love. It can be a beautiful thing. But maybe you be okay with yourself first.
From that point on, Alex and Matthew both are forced to admit the things that they said and did in the process of deceiving other people. In Alex's case, she's forced to re-visit her own insecurities about being alone.
In Josh Hartnett's case, he gets the girl (the 1 time out of 10?). I don't mind this in theory, because the supposition (I'm supposing) is that honest relationships can be developed, but it seemed rather convenient, and I don't think his character experienced the same kind of individual growth that Alex's character had to. Basically, Alex tells him where Lisa is, he goes to find her, tells his (soon-to-be-ex-)fiancée about his affair, she fucks off, and then he hooks up with Lisa and doesn't tell her a thing. But he really loves her, so it doesn't matter? It didn't work for me. Although, for what it's worth, the closing shot of the two of them kissing to "The Scientist" by Coldplay is pitch perfect (although I don't think that song's supposed to be happy, but whatevs).
Overall? I don't know what I'd rate it. It's emotional, and thoughtful, but lamentably marred by an extremely pat ending that ignores a lot of what preceded it. But Matthew Lillard turns in a solid supporting performance, and Rose Byrne is terrific as Alex; this I cannot stress enough. The soundtrack is pretty too (Mazzy Star fans keep an ear out) and, combined with the subject material and all the snow-covered scenery, it creates a fantastic sense of atmosphere. This is the first Paul McGuigan movie I've ever seen, but from where I'm standing, I'm very impressed.
So in summation: I recommend
Wicker Park. Especially if you like feelin' romantic and stuff. Or stalking people.
Whew! That review did not come out the way I wanted it to at all. But I hope it came out alright.
