Two more flicks to add to your Netflix queue, if the mini-reviews below appeal to you. I saw the first last night, and it reminded me a little of the second, which came out last year. The connec- tion is that both films have to do with the after- math of an auto accident, and how that accident affects the lives of one of the passengers for the rest of his life.
The first was, like "In Bruges," shown at the most recent Sundance Film Festival. It's called "Quid Pro Quo," and I liked it a LOT. Do NOT be put off by the subject matter; that's just "local color" for a good, old-fashioned mystery, one that "opens up" into not only revelation, but self- revelation. It's even got a pair of magical shoes that perform miracles. The two actors who basically eat the screen with fine performances are Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga. Stahl plays playing a public radio reporter/speaker who is semi-paralyzed; the accident in his youth that killed his parents left him in a wheelchair. He gets a tip from an anonymous woman that at a local hospital, a man recently walked in and tried to bribe one of the residents to amputate his leg. Following up on it, he finds that not only is it true, but that there is a subculture out there that *envies* those in wheelchairs, and wants to become like them. They call themselves "wannabees," and have been known to cripple themselves or have others do it for them so that they can live their "inner selves" in the wheelchairs they have dreamed of being confined to for so long. His investigation leads him to a mysterious and beautiful young woman, played by Vera Farmiga in a performance that is going to get her a LOT of work in the future. She's tremendous -- innocent, sexy, conflicted, and at every turn of the plot the person who leads Stahl's character deeper and deeper into his investigation of why on earth someone would *want* to be confined to a wheelchair. It's a great flick, by a first-time writer/director, someone who IMO is To Be Watched. Highly recommended. The other accident-related film is called "The Lookout," and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tommy from "Third Rock from the Sun") as a guy whose auto accident left him with impaired ability to form and hold memories. Like the character in "Memento," he cannot form short-term memories; if he wants to remember anything, he has to write it down for future reference. This even applies to the babe who picks him up in a local bar and sleeps with him. She introduces him to friends who are very interested in the fact that he works as a janitor in a bank. Duh. They take advantage of his impairment to sucker him into being the lookout as they rob the bank. Belatedly, Gordon-Levitt's character, with the help of his blind best friend (well played by Jeff Daniels) figures out what is going on and tries to extricate himself from the situation. Also highly recommended; Gordon-Levitt has turned into a finer actor than was hinted at in "Third Rock." Enjoy...
