Slipstream (2007)

Director:

Anthony Hopkins

Writer:

Anthony Hopkins (writer)

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

I've got to get back.

Plot:

Aging screenwriter Felix Bonhoeffer has lived his life in two states of existence: in reality and his own interior world. While working on a murder mystery script, and unaware that his brain is on the verge of implosion, Felix is baffled when his characters start to appear in his life, and vice versa.

Plot Keywords:

Reflection | Hitman | Daydream | Quirky | Screenwriter

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Lana Antonova	...	Lily
Stella Arroyave	...	Gina
Gene Borkan	...	Mel
Michael Clarke Duncan
Donna G. Earley	...	Wardrobe Girl
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Bette Lustig
Jennifer Anne Franklin	...	Shelly
Monica Garcia	...	Monica
Dana Generally	...	Stand In
Saginaw Grant	...	Man at Gas Station
Gavin Grazer	...	Gavin
Anthony Hopkins	...	Felix Bonhoeffer
Christopher Lawford	...	Lars
John Littlefield	...	Burt
William Lucking	...	Det. Buzz Larabee
Camryn Manheim	...	Barbara
Jennifer Mann	...	Joanie
Kevin McCarthy	...	Himself
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Bonnie
Ken Millen	...	Dr. Stu Cohen
Lisa Pepper	...	Tracy
Richard F. Putnam	...	Dan, Assistant Cameraman
Thell Reed	...	The Armourer
Charlene Rose	...	Dolly Parton lookalike / Opera Singer
Christian Slater	...	Ray
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Geek / Jeffrey / Dr. Geekman
Jana Thompson	...	Marcia
Scott L. Treger	...	Scott / Hitchhiker
Aaron Tucker	...	Chauffeur / Aaron
John Turturro

Also Known As:

Slipstream Dream (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violent images.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Strand Releasing

Movie Connections:

References Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

96 minutes trapped in someone else's mind on drugs

Anthony Hopkins writes, directs,scores and stars in a movie that is like the bastard child of David Lynch and Peter Greenaway. Its a film that operates on a visceral level and is akin to being trapped in someones head (which is the point). Nominally the tale of screenwriter who is having the real and fantasy worlds of film and his head merge. Beyond that I can say no more- partly because the more adventurous of you may want to try this, and partly because I couldn't explain it if I wanted to. As Hopkins says in the commentary on the DVD about portions of it "I can't explain it either". Characters come and go everything refers to everything else, everyone has multiple parts and the film doesn't end until the film stops. This is food for thought and then some. It means something and it means nothing. From the opening seconds you are bombarded with sounds and images that over lap. There are quick cuts, long takes, things change from shot to shot...and in someways its like a punch in the face. Its a shot of some hallucinogen in the mind of someone else thats forced upon you to further mess you up. Its a mediation on the notion of reality and a puzzle. Its a true masterpiece of cinema and the most pretentious piece of dog doo. I am in awe of it. I have no idea who would want to watch it, but I am in awe of it. It is one of the most personal films I've ever seen. Watching it with the commentary helps to a certain degree.and in other ways it confuses things. What the hell is this and how the hell did it get made. One of a kind. I'm not even sure it goes where Hopkins thinks it goes, yes the trajectory is kind of foreseeable but at the same time...what the hell is this? I feel like I've been messed with in a physical manner, like a truck has hit me. Few films have ever effected me like this. Is it a good film? I have no idea Should you see it? I have no idea Will I see it again? probably. This is an experience. Beyond that you're on you're own.

Rating of 9 out of 10 is for the technical wizardry of the film and because it does what few films do now a days and that is provoke a reaction of some kind in the viewer. The film forces to react in someway either with confusion, laughter or to turn it off. Its is not an indication of what I or you may think of it on any other level.