Movie Type: Psychological Drama, Post-Noir (Modern Noir)
Themes: Unrequited Love
Main Cast: Rachel Weisz, Alessandro Nivola, Luka Petrusic, Labina Mitevska, Carmen Ejogo
Release Year: 1998
Country: UK
Run Time: 87 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This neo-noir British crime drama, set at a decaying English beach resort, begins with a body dropped from a pier. Hairdresser Helen (Rachel Weisz) goes with local deejay Bob (Ben Daniels), but mute bicyclist Honda (Luka Petrusic), who secretly tapes people's conversations, meets Helen at the beachfront and begins sending her flowers. Honda's sad nympho sister Smokey (Macedonian-born Labina Mitevska) sings at a local club. A figure from Helen's past, the enigmatic, mysterious Martin (Alessandro Nivola) checks out Helen but keeps his distance. Irritated that Helen won't sleep with him, Honda plans a way to embarrass Bob with the secret tapes, while Martin and Helen renew their relationship. Polish cinematographer Slawomir Idziak, famed for his filtered filming for Krzysztof Kieslowski's (Blue), captures the dark, visual tone of obsessive love, while Elvis Costello's 1986 song I Want You is heard throughout. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
Venturing into neo-noir, director Michael Winterbottom injects a genre too often only about its cool surfaces with a welcome emotional depth. Not that it doesn't have its share of cool surfaces. Stylishly shot, I Want You's complicated structure withholds crucial information about its characters to great effect. In a film at least partially about voyeurism, albeit of an auditory variety, it places its viewers in the position of someone forced to fill in the blanks from limited information. Just as interesting is Winterbottom's handling of the film's emotional tone. In a reversal of the typical noir arc, this is a film in which characters become more sympathetic and less sinister as the story progresses. Invested with a tremendous sadness to match its run-down, after-the-party location, it's a unique entry in the noir revival -- one that can stand proudly alongside Red Rock West and The Underneath -- and another overlooked addition to the Winterbottom filmography. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
David Bryan - Art Director, David Bowes - Art Director, Gina Carter - Associate Producer, Rachael Fleming - Costume Designer, Nick Laws - First Assistant Director, Michael Winterbottom - Director, Trevor Waite - Editor, Stewart Till - Executive Producer, Adrian Johnston - Composer (Music Score), Mark Tildesley - Production Designer, Slawomir Idziak - Cinematographer, Andrew Eaton - Producer, Martin Trevis - Sound/Sound Designer, Eoin McNamee - Screenwriter
Forget About Me (1990) ·Love Lies Bleeding (1993) ·Under the Sun (1994) ·Butterfly Kiss (1995) ·Go Now (1995) ·Jude (1996) ·Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) ·I Want You (1998) ·With or Without You (1999) ·Wonderland (1999)
