Cold Souls

[Lazy Boy]

http://awards.hell.ca/images/cold-souls.jpg

Written and directed by Sophie Barthes

Genre: Comedy/drama

Plot: Paul Giamatti stars as himself, agonizing over his interpretation of "Uncle Vanya." Paralyzed by anxiety, he stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls. Giamatti enlists their service -- only to discover that his soul is the shape and size of a chickpea. His intention is to reinstate it once he survives the performance but complications ensue when a mysterious, soul-trafficking "mule" borrows Giamatti's stored soul for an ambitious, but unfortunately talentless, Russian soap-opera actress.

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson, David Strathairn, Dina Korzun

Rated PG-13 for brief nudity and strong language.


Looks too much in the vein of a Kaufman wannabe (and some reviews do mention that it's a lightweight version of his style), but I like Giamatti, and I'll probably see it.

[Bourne101]

Doesn't look all that great, but I love Giamatti and the reviews have been relatively positive so I'll probably check it out.

[Cronos]

Trailer (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/coldsouls/)
The trailer didn't do much for me but Giamatti's quickly rising up the ranks of my favourite actors so I'll have to give this a look.

[Smarmy Douche]

This movie really looks like Sophie Barthes sat down and decided to try to write herself a Charlie Kaufman movie.

I like a lot of the cast, but this movie looks pretty lame. Which is a shame, because I was really looking forward to it at the beginning of the year.

[Cop No. 633]

Wow, you guys weren't kidding. This looks like a bad copy of Kaufman's work. No thank you.

[Badbird]

Looks pretty good. Don't know if it will play in my area, though.

[Tweek]

I agree with people saying it looks like a Kaufman movie. It does to me too, except more boring.

[Strider]

Looks too much in the vein of a Kaufman wannabe.

I completely agree. Actually, I thought the exact same thing when I first saw the trailer, which didn't do much for me either. Having said that, I will see Cold Souls because of Paul Giamatti, who I am a big fan of.

Strider

[Lazy Boy]

6/10

Kind of a good idea, but it also feels like something you'd quickly jot down in your journal upon waking up in the middle of the night. Apparently, director Sophie Barthes originally dreamed this concept with Woody Allen in mind, but I think the director's neurotic screen persona would've gotten old. We get a gateway into the soul, to speak, with Paul Giamatti, or at least a version of himself. He brings the funny -- loved his Uncle Vanya audition where he totally overdoes the body language and finger "quotes," best scene in the film -- and he also brings the emotion this film otherwise strangely lacks, no matter how many flashes we get to despondent Russian poets or mules. There's really not much else to say; I always think a film should be judged for how it stands out from the rest of the pack, but it's hard to see this as anything but a less than inspired head trip into the mind of a celebrity, playing himself. Hmm, where have I seen that before?

[APzombie]

People say it's an awful lot like Kaufman, but it really is just that. It has the existential dilemma of experiencing the world through someone else ala Being John Malchovich and it has the capitalization of pseudo-science ala Eternal Sunshine.

The problem i had was that it felt like a short film stretched into two hours.

I didn't dislike it, Giamatti is good and the subplot of the Russians is funny, but it just kind of drags.

i agree with Lazy Boy, 6/10

[Moviefan02000]

I actually completely loved it.

9/10 (A)

[Strider]

I never had a chance to see this film, unfortunately. Its theatrical run was over in a blink of an eye. I'm still waiting for the DVD....

Strider

[Badbird]

My favorite movie of the year. I can't really explain why, but I really just felt something inside me when it was over.

It's not at all a comedy, but there are some pretty funny parts in it: "I rented the soul of a Russia poet" for one. It's kind of weird, but it never gets stupid-weird (like, say, Mulholand Drive).

It starts off a bit slow, but once it gets going it's great.

10/10