Review: (Untitled)

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Untitled

"What is art?" is one of those eternal questions that you have to be at a certain kind of party to discuss without feeling totally pretentious. Lots of people use the question to denigrate certain types of art -- the "my kid can paint that" school of snark. (Untitled), which opened Friday at Arbor, asks the question in a playful way, and the ensuing "discussion" of the film is more enjoyable than you might think.

See, now you're all turning away because I've made it sound like this is some upscale-y film that drones on about Art. No. Stay with me, here. (Untitled) is from the same filmmakers who brought us the curious adaptation of Bartleby starring Crispin Glover, back in 2001 -- co-writer/director Jonathan Parker and writer Catherine DiNapoli -- and their latest movie is slightly less strange and has more sly humor.

Adrian Jacobs (Adam Goldberg) is a composer whose atonal music features sounds from chains hitting a bucket, children's toys, and torn paper. His quartet makes the Triplets of Belleville look positively conventional. His brother Josh (Eion Bailey) is a more conventionally successful artist, who paints large canvases that are snapped up by hospitals and hotels. Josh is trying to date his art dealer Madeleine (Marley Shelton), who's happy to make money from his work but focus on increasingly strange exhibitions in her gallery. Adrian dislikes her at first -- she's always wearing clothes that make disruptive sounds, like plastic coats or noisy high heels -- but gradually that starts to change.

The artists Madeleine features in her gallery become increasingly distant from what we think of as traditional art: Ray Barko (Vinnie Jones) envisions art with taxidermied animals, but he doesn't do any of the work himself, he just supervises. Another artist carefully decides where he wants to place a push pin on a wall, and calls that art. Fortunately for Madeleine, her regular clients include a rich young man who will buy just about anything if he thinks it may appreciate in value later.

(Untitled) doesn't take much of this seriously. The film is full of small humorous moments: why Madeleine's glasses change color in different settings; Adrian fussing with his percussionist on the best way to kick a bucket; a dinner date between the rich collector and the woman who plays clarinet with Adrian. One of the funniest moments takes place in a restaurant where Adrian is playing piano -- traditional jazz, not atonal -- for diners who are all on their cell phones.

The score is one of the best I've heard all year -- from composer David Lang, whose first film score this is. The performances in (Untitled) are all excellent, with nearly everyone avoiding campy or cartoonish performances but taking their roles seriously. Marley Shelton sometimes reminded me of Kim Novak, which befits a character named Madeleine, and Adam Goldberg manages the difficult feat of being both a sympathetic character and an annoyingly arrogant artist.

(Untitled) is currently playing at the Arbor, and it hasn't had a lot of publicity -- I would hate for this movie to get lost in the shuffle. It's funny in a very sneaky way, and gives you a good chance to think about art and music and how we define such things. Go see it while you have the chance, although I think it will probably work just as well on DVD or online ... if you have a good sound system.

Untitled

Thanks so much for reviewing this movie, Jette - My husband and I saw it at the Arbor and we loved it but don't know if anyone we know will see it so we can talk about it. I'm sure when it comes out on DVD we'll watch it again.

I'm a fan of both "2 Days in Paris" and Adam Goldberg so his name got me into the theater, but the whole cast made it work. I've seen Lucy Punch the Clarinet on Doc Martin - it was fun to meet her as a very different character.

David Lang's score was terrific and it seemed very real, not a smartass riff. Did you see that NY Times review (think it was Thursday) of a Carnegie Hall concert with music by Tan Dun, evoking rural China by having a musician dip objects in and out of bowls of water?

Marley Shelton reminded you of Kim Novak? Have to think about that one awhile.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose