Empire Records

Tags

1990's, Allan Moyle, Anthony LaPaglia, Brendan Sexton III, Comedy, Coming-of-Age, Coyote Shivers, Debi Mazar, Drama, Empire Records, Ethan Embry, James 'Kimo' Wills, Johnny Whitworth, Liv Tyler, Maxwell Caulfield, Renée Zellweger, Robin Tunney, Rory Cochrane

The wonderful Gabriela asked me to take part in a blogathon to pay tribute to Maxwell Caulfield.I thought of the perfect film for it and that film is the coming of age comedy/drama Empire Records. My entry is a day early but I don’t think anyone will mind. 

Set over a day in the lives of the workers at the titular music store, Empire Records is a 90’s movie with plenty of good music and filled with many stars on the brink of making it. Plus, you’ve got offbeat characters and fun antics so it’s a great way to spend an hour and a half. Don’t go in expecting anything revolutionary and you’ll have a good time with this cult classic that’s stature has grown in recent years.

Empire Records is a funky little independent record store in Delaware, that provides a solace for the teenagers who work there under the caring eye of store manager  Joe(Anthony LaPaglia). The store prides itself on being independent and doing its own thing, not complying with corporate pressure to be mainstream, but all that could be in jeopardy. The sarcastic and wisdom dispensing employee Lucas( Rory Cochrane) discovers that there is a plan to sell the store and for it to be changed into a soulless music chain. Determined for this not to happen, Lucas takes the store’s takings and heads to Atlantic City. He plans to increase the money at the casino, yet his luck runs out quickly and the money is gone thanks to his harebrained scheme. The next day, the store opens for the arrival of has been former teen idol Rex Manning(Maxwell Caulfield), whose attempting some form of a comeback. It’s here that the rest of the characters are introduced. We have beautiful over achiever Corey(Liv Tyler) , a good girl who wants to lose her virginity to celebrity crush Rex, sexy and sassy Gina( Renée Zellweger) who goes through men like clothes, artistic A.J( Johnny Whitworth) who is in love with Corey but hasn’t had the courage to tell her, wild eyed stoner Mark(Ethan Embry) and troubled Deb(Robin Tunney), who announces herself by shaving her head within minutes of entering the store. Also appearing later are Deb’s on/off rockstar boyfriend Berko( Coyote Shivers)and Mark’s fellow stoner Eddie(James ‘Kimo’ Wills) .

Once Joe notices that the money is gone, he is furious and waits for Lucas to show his face. After animosity following Lucas resurfacing, Joe attempts to explain a plan that could stop the store becoming mainstream while still nursing anger towards the well meaning but careless Lucas. It seems that the money Lucas lost was going to be used to buy the store outright by Joe. Meanwhile ups and downs within the store flesh out the eventful day before them. A whole host of things take place in the twenty fours like a belligerent thief going by the pseudonym Warren Beatty( Brendan Sexton III) causing havoc, Corey and Gina falling out over their respective reputations, Deb’s feelings of alienation and indifference and the appearance of the washed up Rex who has seen better days and isn’t blessed with the kindest of egos . Above it all, feelings are aired and the misfits begin to band together to stop the takeover in an attempt to sock it to the man. 

Allan Moyle is on director’s duties and he seems to have a good grasp of teen angst and how music is always there for us. Complete with messages of fighting the system and being yourself even when you’ve got problems, Moyle injects Empire Records with a certain nostalgia value and the script sizzles with great one liners and plenty of hip dialogue. Moyle keeps the pace flowing as more crazy events mount up within the store, many of them overlapping and entertaining. Empire Records is far from flawless( parts feel rushed and sometimes there is one music montage too many). It isn’t exactly going for being the most original movie out there, but I think therein lies the appeal of Empire Records. Sure it has foibles and the characters are largely archetypes, but it’s not attempting to be a game changer and is going for showing teenagers and their problems/ antics shared with each other and the audience. It’s got a good nature to it and is hard to resist for its sheer quirkiness and witty nature. You get the feeling that for all the angst and eventfulness in the character’s lives, that there’s some light out there for them at the end when surrounded by friends and music. Fun can be gleaned from seeing certain stars at the beginnings of their careers in this comedy drama( chiefly Renée Zellweger and Liv Tyler) that has earned itself its place as a cult classic. Plus it provides one entertaining capsule into the 90’s complete with the fashions, records, VHS and lingo that dazzle. And you have to love the soundtrack that truly singles it out as a 90’s movie of the highest order.

 A game cast fit into their arguably archetypal parts that are well suited to them in an offbeat and idiosyncratic way. As the main sense of parental authority that isn’t stuffy or condescending is Anthony LaPaglia, who combines both a fatherly charm and a gruff  visage to the craziness around him. He’s a softie at heart though and functions wonderfully as the person who provides a sense of fun and respect towards his workers who all look up to him. Much humour and astute observation comes courtesy of Rory Cochrane as the witty yet unlucky Lucas. His deadpan humour and almost mystical advice to his friends is both in check and makes for most of the movie’s laughs. A luscious Liv Tyler is on hand to present pressured angst and a want to be more than just a goodie two shoes, coupled with notes of humour and sadness. Her blend of winsome appeal and longing is employed excellently here. Renée Zellweger in an early role aces it as her best friend who has a bad reputation but is a lot more than meets the eye. Zellweger savours the sassy one-liners that her part presents and delivers them with a wicked edge. Johnny Whitworth has the right attitude for the part of lovesick A.J, who can produce great art but it seems is unable to fully express his feelings of romance, while the main points of comedy come from the crazy and uninhibited turn by Ethan Embry as the stoner. Robin Tunney rounds out the main group with a decidedly dark yet acerbically funny performance as a girl crying out for help but also letting loose and just holding nothing back. 

And we now come to the man of the hour that is Maxwell Caulfield. He’s splendidly cast as the has been pop star whose attempting a comeback yet is never taken seriously by anyone. Caulfield captures the sleazy and entitled attitude of someone who doesn’t realise that their heyday is in fact over and that he’s an embarrassment full of arrogance and swagger. Complete with bouffant hair and bad spray tan, he’s a funny figure to witness and one that Caulfield plays very well. It’s really evident that Maxwell Caulfield is having a ball with this peach of a part. I enjoyed seeing a young Brendan Sexton III as the surly and amateur thief who begins to feel at home inside the confines of the store. In support there is Debi Mazar as his personal assistant who actually can’t stand him and sides with the store, plus the music stylings of Coyote Shivers and slacker humour from James ‘Kimo’ Wills.

So while it has its moments that detract from the overall product, Empire Records is still an entertaining film to watch, mainly for the performances and of course the music 

Session 9

Tags

2000's, Brad Anderson, Brendan Sexton III, David Caruso, Horror, Josh Lucas, Peter Mullan, Psychological Horror, Session 9, Stephen Gevedon

A very unnerving and underrated psychological horror film, Session 9 knows how to chill the audience and craft a compelling story populated by flawed yet fascinating characters.

Gordon Fleming( Peter Mullan) is the owner of an asbestos removal company who is having a rough time of things. He’s recently become a father but doesn’t seem entirely thrilled at this and his relationship with his wife seems more than a little strained. In a desperate need for money to support himself as he starts to become a bit unglued in life, he takes on the job of cleaning out a now uninhabited former mental asylum. Gordon, who is known for his cool efficiency, promises to complete the vast job in just a week. This is despite the fact that the job is actually one that should take a number of weeks. He brings along good friend and resident intense bossy boots Phil,( David Caruso), nasty mouthed and greedy Hank, knowledgable law school drop out Mike (Stephen Gevedon) and Gordon’s green nephew Jeff( Brendan Sexton III) , who has a fear of the dark. Each of them is wrestling with something( a big bone of contention is the fact that Phil’s ex girlfriend is now with the cocky Hank) but decide to just get the job done as quickly as possibly. Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen as something sinister takes over the asylum As the week goes on, tensions begin to rise between the men as the former asylum begins to take a dangerous hold over them. Gordon in particular comes under immense anguish as his already tenuous situation and anxieties manifest, along with the rest of the crew. In parallel, Mike discovers an old room in the vast building that house cassette tapes of psychiatric evaluations with a former patient named Mary Hobbes. We hear that she has multiple personalities and that something horrifying happened years ago. Mike becomes obsessed with listening to the nine tapes that slowly peel back the horror of the asylum. As we witness the fraying of relationships, darkness and all manner of horror descend on the feuding group and puts them in grave danger, in particular a close to breaking point Gordon.

Brad Anderson is fantastic in the directors chair; he clearly knows how to unsettle without being too in your face and his focus on character development is to be admired. His skills in forming a mystery that takes you along with it while scaring you in sophisticated ways is to be praised too. The running discovery of psychiatric session tapes that bleed into the present and often accompany shots of the crew are mesmerising and keep you glued. Session 9 is a horror movie that has only a couple of grisly moments; Anderson instead discovers fear and shock through the unexplained and mystery surrounding events in true psychological horror style. As I’ve often said in regards to effective horror, you don’t need gallons of blood to scare an audience, just an eerie idea executed to a great level of suspense can do it. And Session 9 more than does that with its chills getting more intense as things progress. 

It’s in the characters, atmosphere and script that Session 9 derives it’s scares with its delving into psychological animosity between the men and how they unravel my a gradually more terrifying series of events. The seething anger, resentments and bruised egos all come through as these men struggle to accept their vulnerable state by using bravado but failing to fully comprehend the horror ahead. An intriguing comparison can be made between the toxic nature of their job in cleaning asbestos and the toxic masculinity that they each exhibit in one form or another. The use of titles to signify the week going along  And one can’t speak of Session 9 without mentioning its location which is in actual fact a real life mental asylum by the name of Danvers State Mental Hospital that is not in use but nonetheless adds to the creepy dimension of the piece. It’s large, looming stature and the effective way that a lot of it is shot in the daytime to further emphasise uneasiness. As the bright light streams through the old windows, it feels very chilling and a reverse of the usual all bad things happen in the dark adage. Granted, scary things do happen in the dark in Session 9( watch as poor Jeff who has a fear of the dark has to run for his life , but the overall consistency of the ambience in daylight really does amazing things for this movie. And it really gets you thinking once you know that the location is in fact a real place where unspeakable things in less enlightened times happened and digs deep under the skin of the viewer. The dissonant, mood-setting score aids the spooky and deeply creepy exercise in terror with the fleeting of a piano and ominous punctuation highlighting the creep actor and raising it considerably.

The relatively small cast is exceptional at displaying the slowly unravelling minds of the characters. Peter Mullan is the big standout with an immensely convincing and harrowing performance as a man on the edge. Mullan possesses a face that speaks volumes about life and experience and that perfectly suits the role of Gordon. You can practically feel his world starting to fall apart and his futile attempts to prove he’s strong shattering as darkness descends on him. It’s a truly excellent piece of acting from the ever dependable Mullan. David Caruso also is memorable as the second in command who bristles with belligerence and a sense of entitled authority. He’s often at odds with the other characters which adds even more to the drama in Session 9. Josh Lucas relishes playing the cocky and sneaky worker who can’t resist rubbing up people the wrong way, while having a get out plan when times get tough. Stephen Gevedon, who is a co-writer along with Brad Anderson, imbues his role with smarts and deep curiosity, while Brendan Sexton III portrays the most inexperienced member of the group with a childlike want to please and be part of something that eventually becomes toxic.

Very spooky and deeply unsettling, with a great emphasis on characters, Session 9 is an underrated psychological horror you simply must watch.