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Some Velvet Morning
"That's the truth. The lesson is in the struggle. That's what makes us shine, or roll over and die like little bitches in the dirt with our guts exposed and flies ******** in our open mouths"
I'm a fan of Neil LaBute as a playwright; Some Velvet Morning is typical of his short plays. There is no attempt to disguise the fact that it's a by-the-numbers one-act play.
Even the title is a little lazy. Though the contrasting personalities of Fred and Velvet suggest the Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra song of the same name was an inspiration, we don't get to hear it. The film is set one morning in the house of Velvet (Alice Eve). Fred, a middle-aged lawyer (Stanley Tucci) turns up on Velvet's doorstep to announce that he's left his wife for her. Velvet is seeing her ex- Fred's son Chris- on the side, which winds up already aggressive Fred.
For a film that is essentially one long argument between two characters, the dialogue should be much tighter. LaBute's dialogue in In The Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbours was perfectly and nastily on point, whereas here it's the old play convention of contriving reasons why they continue the argument.
With the writing relatively low-key (well, it is a LaBute film so some rage remains), the focus is all on the acting. Eve becomes better as the film progresses; Tucci is actually pretty good, considering that I've only ever seen him in comic roles. He carries off the LaBute dialogue more naturally than Eve and Fred's aggressive sense of entitlement is classic LaBute. Whilst Fred and Velvet's relationship is in stalemate, there are some nice moments of tenderness between them (tenderness in a LaBute film is quite a surprise).
There is a twist at the end, which is initially frustrating but it does make you want to rewatch the film. On a rewatch, I may prefer it but for me at the moment, it's a little too thin and lacks the brutal honesty/dishonesty of In The Company of Men, or even Your Friends and Neighbours.
"That's the truth. The lesson is in the struggle. That's what makes us shine, or roll over and die like little bitches in the dirt with our guts exposed and flies ******** in our open mouths"
I'm a fan of Neil LaBute as a playwright; Some Velvet Morning is typical of his short plays. There is no attempt to disguise the fact that it's a by-the-numbers one-act play.
Even the title is a little lazy. Though the contrasting personalities of Fred and Velvet suggest the Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra song of the same name was an inspiration, we don't get to hear it. The film is set one morning in the house of Velvet (Alice Eve). Fred, a middle-aged lawyer (Stanley Tucci) turns up on Velvet's doorstep to announce that he's left his wife for her. Velvet is seeing her ex- Fred's son Chris- on the side, which winds up already aggressive Fred.
For a film that is essentially one long argument between two characters, the dialogue should be much tighter. LaBute's dialogue in In The Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbours was perfectly and nastily on point, whereas here it's the old play convention of contriving reasons why they continue the argument.
With the writing relatively low-key (well, it is a LaBute film so some rage remains), the focus is all on the acting. Eve becomes better as the film progresses; Tucci is actually pretty good, considering that I've only ever seen him in comic roles. He carries off the LaBute dialogue more naturally than Eve and Fred's aggressive sense of entitlement is classic LaBute. Whilst Fred and Velvet's relationship is in stalemate, there are some nice moments of tenderness between them (tenderness in a LaBute film is quite a surprise).
There is a twist at the end, which is initially frustrating but it does make you want to rewatch the film. On a rewatch, I may prefer it but for me at the moment, it's a little too thin and lacks the brutal honesty/dishonesty of In The Company of Men, or even Your Friends and Neighbours.