‘Architect’ builds a good story; ‘Bounce’ is lightweight
TRICIA BEHLE
Documentary goes beyond architecture
“My Architect: A Son’s Journey” is essentially the story of a son
trying to understand his long-deceased father.
Since the father happens to be the enigmatic American architect
Louis Kahn, he makes a fascinating subject for a documentary. “My
Architect” was written and directed by Nathaniel Kahn, Louis’ son.
When he was a child, Nathaniel did not get to spend much time with
his father due to Louis’ demanding work schedule and complicated
personal life. Then Louis died in 1974 when Nathaniel was only 11, so
the father is rather a mystery to his own son.
This documentary is Nathaniel’s attempt to get to know his father.
He uses archival film footage and photos of Louis, combined with
interviews with his father’s friends, family and colleagues.
Kahn was a visionary architect who wanted to create modern
buildings that had the feel of timeless ancient monuments. He was
also uncompromising, which lost him many projects. Kahn completed
only a handful of buildings during his career.
Nathaniel visits all of his father’s projects, and includes
beautiful shots of the buildings in the documentary. He saves the
most stunning project, the Capital of Bangladesh, for the very end of
the film. Nathaniel was also able to interview many of the greatest
living architects, like I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry and Philip Johnson,
about Kahn’s architecture.
Just as intriguing as his work, Louis Kahn also had a complicated
private life with three separate families. His official family was
his wife Esther and daughter Sue Ann. But he also had a daughter,
Alex, with architect Anne Tyng. And later he had a son, Nathaniel,
with landscape architect Harriet Pattison. Nathaniel interviews both
his half sisters for their memories of their shared father, and both
Tyng and Pattison give Nathaniel remarkably open and unguarded
interviews about the man they both loved.
In “My Architect,” Nathaniel Kahn creates a compelling portrait of
a deeply talented and creative man, while also acknowledging his
all-too-human flaws and failings.
* TRICIA BEHLE lives in Newport Beach and works as a software
validator.
‘Bounce’ potential fails to cash in on big screen
Elmore Leonard is a writer who specializes in offbeat crime capers
with sharp plot twists and many colorful characters. In the right
hands, his novels can become innovative movies that cross over the
usual Hollywood categories. “Get Shorty” and “Out of Sight” come to
mind as examples of Leonard stories that were transferred
successfully to the big screen by top-notch directors Barry
Sonnenfeld and Steven Soderbergh
“The Big Bounce” has similar worthwhile elements, but director
George Armitage delivers a very mediocre version of the film it might
have been. Owen Wilson plays the bad boy surfer dude who is the
anti-hero at the center of the story. Sara Foster is the steamy femme
fatale who displays the requisite amount of skin and teasing pouts to
keep all the men in the story drooling over her body while ignoring
her devious intentions. There are brief, but totally wasted,
performances by Willie Nelson, Charlie Sheen and Gary Sinise.
The story presents sex, lies and double crosses that should keep
us intrigued, but it all falls flat with lame delivery and contrived
developments. It’s impossible to really care what happens to any of
the characters. Not even the excellent Morgan Freeman can provide
enough gravitas to save this ultra-lightweight enterprise. A
potentially good story is turned into mindless fluff and drawn out
yawns. “The Big Bounce” wants to be a new “Body Heat” but has way too
much “Dumb and Dumber” to make the grade.
* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator
for the Orange County public defender’s office.
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