“Stevie” Directed by Steve James Lions Gate
Films
Watching someone you care about self-destruct can be a painful,
saddening experience. In Steve James’ (who brought us
1994’s brilliant “Hoop Dreams”) new documentary
“Stevie,” we get to observe as the filmmaker becomes
immersed in a life spinning wildly out of control. The results,
while at times difficult to watch, are astonishing. The film begins
with James reconnecting with Stevie Fielding, an extremely troubled
young man whom James had mentored 10 years earlier in rural
Illinois through the Big Brother program. When Fielding is accused
of molesting his young niece, James becomes a character in his own
film as he struggles to convince Fielding to work with his lawyers
and to cut a deal to avoid a lengthy prison sentence. This is not a
story of the triumph of the human spirit. It is depressing, and
frustrating, and though there are lighter moments, many of them are
of the uncomfortable, “I-can’t-believe-
I’m-laughing-at-misfortune-and- poverty” variety. But
it is the painstaking honesty and fairness James maintains
throughout the film that make it, much like picking a fresh scab,
achingly wonderful. The most delicate balance the director tries to
preserve is his own involvement in the story. Every time we start
to notice that James has become much more than an impartial
observer, he quickly admits it himself in a voice-over and
endeavors to understand his own place in the story. With
“Stevie,” James presents a sincere and affecting
portrait of a man that every one of us, but perhaps James most of
all, wish we could have helped earlier. -Sommer
Mathis
“The Good Thief” Directed by Neil Jordan
Starring Nick Nolte
The only thing worse than a bad movie is a bad movie made by a
talented director and starring a talented actor. “The Good
Thief,” directed by Neil Jordan and starring Nick Nolte, is
not a disaster of a movie, but it’s a boring one. This update
of Jean Pierre Melville’s film “Bob le Flambeur”
stars Nolte as Bob Montagnet, an aging gambler/heroin addict living
out his days in the South of France with his young friend Paulo
(Said Taghmaoui). After losing all his money at the races, Bob
decides to team up with Paulo and friends to rob a Monte Carlo
casino. Bob has also met a young prostitute, Anne (Nutsa
Kukhianidze) who he trys to save from her pimp, Remi (Marc
Lavoine). The film tries to go for an edgy, cinema-verite type feel
with stop-and-go photography and grimy locations, but the camera
work after a while, just becomes headache-inducing. The film has a
few clever twists, and the title is intriguing (it refers to the
thief who was crucified alongside Jesus Christ and who, according
to Bob, was told by Christ he would still enter heaven because he
was good). However, the characters are not interesting. Jordan does
not invest enough time in his characters’ back story to make
us care about their plight. The one standout in the film is
Kukhianidze, who rises above her underwritten part. The young
Georgian actress possesses a luminosity and natural talent
(she’s only 17) that will hopefully lead to bigger, better
parts for her. Nolte plays his part effortlessly, reminding us why
he is one of the film’s most reliable actors. The supporting
cast is able, with a nice cameo by Ralph Fiennes as a menacing art
dealer. However, a good cast does not save a script that is nothing
but a mishmash of earlier, better films. -Johanna
Davy