Film Reviews

Elizabethtown

• Rating:
• Director: Cameron Crowe
• Starring: Kirsten Dunst
• Details: USA, 123 Mins, 15A

Ever since John Cusack raised his stereo above his head in his directorial debut Say Anything, writer-director Cameron Crowe has been searching for the movie moment that could match that perfect scene in his subsequent movies. From Jerry Maguire's 'you had me at hello' to the desperate run through the streets of New York in Almost Famous, Crowe has fantastically come up short. How short? Shorter than Martin Short playing an Oompaloompa in a TV movie spin-off Midgets Like Us. Elizabethtown opens with Orlando Bloom, a once promising shoe designer, fired after costing his company close to a billion dollars when his design goes belly-up. Before he can commit suicide (that's right), Bloom gets word that his father has died on a trip to his home town and Bloom is sent by his family to deal with the funeral arrangements. This premise, though, becomes an after-thought as Bloom hooks up with quirky air hostess Kirsten Dunst and the two develop a deep and meaningful relationship (as deep as Crowe can go) over the phone. Crowe leaves every stone unturned as the death of his father is never addressed nor is the reason why Dunst and Bloom are attracted to each other made clear. The emotionally dead Bloom mutters something about 'Success, not greatness' in the opening voice-over and this seems to be Crowe's mantra.

Review by Gavin Burke