This adult drama from the film house of Merchant/Ivory is addressed to the mature viewer who will recognize them as a source of some great character-driven dramatic material. But, as wonderful as the best of his output can be, director James Ivory tends toward dilatory pacing this time around, so that we may ponder the lives of the idle rich. Twenty minutes into it and I was suppressing a yawn and wondering when the drama was going to begin.
The City of your Final Destination (easily Merchant Ivory's most cumbersome title since their Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization), is adapted by house scribe Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Howard's End, The Remains of the Day) from the 2002 novel by Peter Cameron, and begins with Iranian-American protagonist Omar Razaghi (Omar Metwally, Munich) at a crossroads in his academic career. The first semester of his fellowship has begun and the project he's been approved for at the University of Colorado -- which will provide him financial aid to continue his graduate work -- is in trouble.
His project is an authorized biography of the obscure, deceased Latin American author Jules Gund, for which he needs approval from the author's heirs. To that end, he's written to the great man's widow, Caroline (Laura Linney, Mystic River); his young ex-mistress, Arden Langdon (Charlotte Gainsbourg, 21 Grams, Antichrist); and Gund's brother Adam (Anthony Hopkins, The Wolfman), all living at one address in Uruguay. And, now, as a consequence of their return letter rejecting his plea for authorization, he's facing the end of his academic career.
But Deirdre (Alexandra Maria Lara, The Reader), Omar's live-in girlfriend, is a lady with ideas. Something of a dominatrix (well, let's bow to the press notes and say "aggressively supportive"), she tends to maintain a puppet master's control over her men, whose minds are putty for her molding. She urges Omar to not accept the rejection and instead go and face these people. It's not like Gund was so world-renowned that another offer of recognition will come again.
And so, manning up to Deirdre's challenge, Omar sets forth for the massive family estate named Ocho Rios (eight rivers) in an isolated region of Uruguay for a face-to-face appeal for reconsideration. Of such derring-do, drama might well evolve. And well it would have had it been written for the likes of Russell Crowe.
Omar shocks the Gund family by the audacity of his unexpected appearance on the doorstep of their mansion, interrupting their lives of idle comfort. Arden intuitively decides that the visitor must be welcomed after such a grueling journey, at least overnight. Standoffish Caroline, on the other hand, rues that decision and would prefer he be sent back to the train station immediately. Civility wins, and when older brother Adam learns of the house guest, he shows himself to be the wise elder of the clan.
Adam occupies a second house on the estate with his social and sexual partner, Pete (Hiroyuki Sanada), a young Japanese man who wants to see his lover realize the fullest potential his land may produce and have it pay off the spread's growing debts. The older man, however, is ill disposed to turning his property into a business venture. Instead, he's looking for an accomplice to smuggle some diamonds and gold jewelry out of the country for sale abroad. Hmmm. Maybe someone who needs something from him.
Of course, Omar's addition to the dynamics between these individuals stirs things up, but his turning from one center of gravity to another in order to win each of the heirs over is a study in tasteful inaction and too meandering to develop much dramatic thrust. The primary tension derives from the developing attraction between Omar and Arden, and Gainsbourg has a quality sufficient to raise the stimulus level considerably. But, as their relationship is held in a state of anticipation for most of the length of the film, the story suffers from malaise, rambling discourse, and an absence of vitality. And when Deirdre arrives on the scene, well... waiting for poor Omar to unshackle himself from his paramour's influence is like waiting for a warming glacier to reach a boil.
The primary reason to see this before it hits the rental bins is if you're anxious to see Gainsbourg's latest work. This is one ravishing lady with a sensuousness all her own, something the French have been well aware of for some time. As the daughter of composer-actor Serge Gainsbourg, she's something of French film royalty, stepping in to occupy her dad's multimedia shoes and, perhaps, a step away from full American recognition. Older fans might be interested to know that she's the goddaughter of Yul Brynner.
The City of Your Final Destination isn't Merchant Ivory's finest hour, but it is consistent with the artistry of their production pedigree, to which cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) provides a painterly brush and a patina of high quality. Ivory captures the flavor of the languid life of the idle rich with an inheritance and a warm climate. But that's no reason to allow the muted conflicts in this film to take so much time emerging from the atmosphere within these old, indulging walls.
The City of your Final Destination (easily Merchant Ivory's most cumbersome title since their Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization), is adapted by house scribe Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Howard's End, The Remains of the Day) from the 2002 novel by Peter Cameron, and begins with Iranian-American protagonist Omar Razaghi (Omar Metwally, Munich) at a crossroads in his academic career. The first semester of his fellowship has begun and the project he's been approved for at the University of Colorado -- which will provide him financial aid to continue his graduate work -- is in trouble.
His project is an authorized biography of the obscure, deceased Latin American author Jules Gund, for which he needs approval from the author's heirs. To that end, he's written to the great man's widow, Caroline (Laura Linney, Mystic River); his young ex-mistress, Arden Langdon (Charlotte Gainsbourg, 21 Grams, Antichrist); and Gund's brother Adam (Anthony Hopkins, The Wolfman), all living at one address in Uruguay. And, now, as a consequence of their return letter rejecting his plea for authorization, he's facing the end of his academic career.
But Deirdre (Alexandra Maria Lara, The Reader), Omar's live-in girlfriend, is a lady with ideas. Something of a dominatrix (well, let's bow to the press notes and say "aggressively supportive"), she tends to maintain a puppet master's control over her men, whose minds are putty for her molding. She urges Omar to not accept the rejection and instead go and face these people. It's not like Gund was so world-renowned that another offer of recognition will come again.
And so, manning up to Deirdre's challenge, Omar sets forth for the massive family estate named Ocho Rios (eight rivers) in an isolated region of Uruguay for a face-to-face appeal for reconsideration. Of such derring-do, drama might well evolve. And well it would have had it been written for the likes of Russell Crowe.
Omar shocks the Gund family by the audacity of his unexpected appearance on the doorstep of their mansion, interrupting their lives of idle comfort. Arden intuitively decides that the visitor must be welcomed after such a grueling journey, at least overnight. Standoffish Caroline, on the other hand, rues that decision and would prefer he be sent back to the train station immediately. Civility wins, and when older brother Adam learns of the house guest, he shows himself to be the wise elder of the clan.
Adam occupies a second house on the estate with his social and sexual partner, Pete (Hiroyuki Sanada), a young Japanese man who wants to see his lover realize the fullest potential his land may produce and have it pay off the spread's growing debts. The older man, however, is ill disposed to turning his property into a business venture. Instead, he's looking for an accomplice to smuggle some diamonds and gold jewelry out of the country for sale abroad. Hmmm. Maybe someone who needs something from him.
Of course, Omar's addition to the dynamics between these individuals stirs things up, but his turning from one center of gravity to another in order to win each of the heirs over is a study in tasteful inaction and too meandering to develop much dramatic thrust. The primary tension derives from the developing attraction between Omar and Arden, and Gainsbourg has a quality sufficient to raise the stimulus level considerably. But, as their relationship is held in a state of anticipation for most of the length of the film, the story suffers from malaise, rambling discourse, and an absence of vitality. And when Deirdre arrives on the scene, well... waiting for poor Omar to unshackle himself from his paramour's influence is like waiting for a warming glacier to reach a boil.
The primary reason to see this before it hits the rental bins is if you're anxious to see Gainsbourg's latest work. This is one ravishing lady with a sensuousness all her own, something the French have been well aware of for some time. As the daughter of composer-actor Serge Gainsbourg, she's something of French film royalty, stepping in to occupy her dad's multimedia shoes and, perhaps, a step away from full American recognition. Older fans might be interested to know that she's the goddaughter of Yul Brynner.
The City of Your Final Destination isn't Merchant Ivory's finest hour, but it is consistent with the artistry of their production pedigree, to which cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) provides a painterly brush and a patina of high quality. Ivory captures the flavor of the languid life of the idle rich with an inheritance and a warm climate. But that's no reason to allow the muted conflicts in this film to take so much time emerging from the atmosphere within these old, indulging walls.
