The Moderns (1988)

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writers (WGA):

Alan Rudolph (written by) &
John Bradshaw (written by)

Release Date:

May 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | History

Plot:

Nick Hart is a struggling American artist who lives amongst the expatriate community in 1920s Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Art | Paris France | Forgery | Independent Film

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Keith Carradine	...	Nick Hart
Linda Fiorentino	...	Rachel Stone
Wallace Shawn	...	Oiseau
Geneviève Bujold	...	Libby Valentin (as Genevieve Bujold)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Nathalie de Ville
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Hemingway
John Lone	...	Bertram Stone
Charlélie Couture	...	L'Evidence (as Charlelie Couture)
Elsa Raven	...	Gertrude Stein
Ali Giron	...	Alice B. Toklas
Gailard Sartain	...	New York Critic
Michael Wilson	...	Surrealist Poet
Robert Gould	...	Blackie
Antonia Dauphin	...	Babette
Véronique Bellegarde	...	Laurette (as Veronique Bellegarde)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Nelson Entertainment

Quotes:

Oiseau: [while observing his own faked funeral] If it weren't for me, these people would think surreal was a breakfast food!

Soundtrack:

Really the Blues

Wooden

A couple years ago I saw Trouble in Mind, and was immediately absorbed in the atmospheric world the film portrayed. I have since been dying to see another movie by the same director. Well, I've just seen the Moderns, and was immediately disappointed. While the film shares the same claustrophobic tendencies of the previous work, in this one it doesn't seem as deliberate, but more a matter of budgetary restraints. I never got the feeling that I was watching Paris, or 1920's Paris, for that matter. All I got was the sensation of watching stilted actors playing dress-up. The dialogue and plot for this movie is b-movie crust, which can be good, but the dreariness of the action and the way in which the film was filmed left it almost completely vacant of any charm. Cute references to pop culture from the 20's only sounds contrived and makes the film more apparent of what it isn't. One should get the feeling one is watching the 20's unfold without the crutch of references. We are never given any reason to care for any of the actors. They are cartoonish, but not cartoonish enough for them to be relieving and enjoyable. This movie takes itself far too seriously to be enjoyed as camp, which makes scenes involving fake suicide and real suicide all the more dour. The sets are perhaps more wooden than the characters, Hart's art atrocious. Hemmingway appears as a jocular Ethan Hawke ruffian, a pale shadow compared to Hart's masculinity. Lampooning famous people can be fine, but not when the only purpose of it is to rip them off and make them a clown with no real relevance to the story. I did, however, like the portrayal of Gertude Stein as a cliquish art snob. That's a more fair assessment. To be missed or slept through.