The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh (2008)

I have decided that I'm going to start a new, more personal, blog apart from this one. I'm going to try to focus more on the film side here and more of my thinking man side on another as of yet untitled blog. It's really just an extension of my facebook blog but being more objective than direct. It would be therapeutic for me to get out all of my questions about life and to perhaps have a HEALTHY debate about world issues. I always find that debates are only worth having if despite the differences in opinion, you can still get your point across to each other effectively and positively. It could get heated but you have to remember that we're all different. Yeah, I think I should do that. It's something that I've always wanted to do but felt that I didn't need to do because there are so many people who are doing it for me. However, being inspired by a blog from one of my peers Little Kiwi (http://littlekiwilovesbauhaus.blogspot.com), I feel the need to contribute my thoughts to the world. Once again I watched two films last night and I think I can start doing that on the regular now.

One of the films I watched was "The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh" Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and Starring Jon Foster, Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard, Mena Suvari, and Nick Nolte. The Film basically centers around the character of Art, played by Foster and his last summer after graduating college in Pittsburgh before he enters the working world. It's full of self discovery and new experiences that inevitably every one of us experiences at some point in our lives. While the film is not a masterpiece and is a little bit thrown together, it does have redeeming qualities. I believe that no matter how bad a film is there's always something good about it. At least one thing. No exercise in film is ever wasted.

One thing that I liked about this film is the relationship between the three leads. I envied that relationship. Where you can do anything and anything is possible. You can get into trouble and live life on the edge and it's you and your friends against the world. I love that reckless abandon that three strangers can have together. It's a rare occurrence to meet people and instantly click with them and become great friends. As time goes by you learn more about them, but it's like everything you learn, you love about them. There's no judgement, no boundaries, you just get each other. That's one of the things that I think the film portrayed really well. Unknown to me, this film is based on a novel of the same name. I see a lot of films based on books and don't know that they are and sometimes I feel like I should've known that. However, I'm all about film and don't really read as much as I would like to. I guess if the situation was reversed it would be the same.

I've heard some about the book and it appears, they cut out a lot for the film's sake. They even cut out an entire character! It was a gay character that the main character develops feelings for. Mena Suvari's character, Phlox, was actually a prominent character in the book but that character has been downsized a lot. In the book, Art is in a love triangle with Phlox and Arthur, the gay character. The performances in the film are solid and Nick Nolte is steel as Art's mob boss father. However, the whole mob element in the film seemed thrown in there to me. I don't know how I felt about that. Anyway, Art meets Miller and Sarsgaard's characters and they take him on a journey that he has never been on before. Sarsgaard's character, Cleveland, is bisexual and at some point Art develops feeling for him, but he also has feelings for Miller's character, Jane. Cleveland's character in the book is a supporting character. They basically melded Cleveland and Arthur together to form a bisexual Cleveland. At the same time Art is prepping for a test which he doesn't know if he wants to take or not. It's basically a coming of age tale and, unlike Adventureland, doesn't really handle the material well, mostly because the original material has been butchered to create this hybrid piece.

The music choices in this film were great and I found myself using the Shazam app on my iphone to find out the names of some of the songs. The music and the cinematography went hand in hand in this film and that's one thing I always applaud in movies. There's nothing more beautiful than looking at a great shot and great music to accompany it. Even if the movie isn't great, at least you have moments of greatness that don't make it a total loss. The film may have gotten a little hokey for me by the final act but the ending of the film was great and for some reason inspired me. I relate to the relationship between Art and his father. It's almost a relationship of convenience and that's the sad reality of a lot of family relationships. I felt that this film had no solid structure and that's the problem with a lot of films lately. Nobody takes their time on a story anymore. You can tell the difference. You've got to let the story and the characters breathe. When you adapt something, it should always be faithful. I don't know why Hollywood has it in their heads that something should be changed as if there aren't fans of the book that will love the film. This film didn't have time to breathe and develop and that, my friends, is a cardinal sin of the cinema. I'm not saying make a three hour film, but there are ways of taking your time and still being quick.

All in all I would say that The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh is an interesting watch for the performances and the technical aspects. If you're looking for a structured plot or a faithful adaptation of the book, you won't find it here. I suggest a rental.