Notes from Underground

September. 12,1995      
Rating:
6.3
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Adapted from Dostoevsky's novella, Henry Czerny plays the narrator, Underground Man. Filled with self-hatred, he keeps a video diary where he discusses his own shortcomings and what he thinks is wrong in contemporary society. His bitterness spills over at a dinner party attended by his old college friends, an occasion which sends him running to a nearby brothel, where he meets Liza (Lee), a young prostitute.

Henry Czerny as  The Underground Man
Sheryl Lee as  Liza
Jon Favreau as  Zerkov
Seth Green as  Punk Neighbor

Reviews

Phonearl
1995/09/12

Good start, but then it gets ruined

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Bereamic
1995/09/13

Awesome Movie

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Taraparain
1995/09/14

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

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Nayan Gough
1995/09/15

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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inframan
1995/09/16

I love this book. It was my bible for years from high school on. Notes From Underground (what happened to the *The*? My text versions always included it) was arguably the first truly modern psychological ontological existential novel, the forerunner to, among other things, Catcher in the Rye & many of Woody Allen's better works.This movie, on the other hand, comes off as nothing more than a very lame imitation of a Steve Martin routine. The lead even looks like Steve Martin but the ancillary characters are barely cardboard in substance. What should have been wryly & universally satirical simply becomes high-school sophomoric.A dreadful disappointment.

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mary293
1995/09/17

I loved this movie. It is dark, but well acted and I thought quite hilarious (in a life isn't always so great--I wish I could do that kind of way). Henry Czerny possesses such an intensity, "victim" portrayal and convincing self-hatred; it is not difficult to understand why he acts as he does (even though the past wrongs done to him are vague).Anyone who has experienced alienation from a group or hating who they are/what they were doing but couldn't stop the compulsion to cease their behavior, will be able to relate and appreciate the dark humor of this film. I caught it on IFC years ago by accident and my sister and I were both so unexpectedly drawn to the film we could not turn the channel!

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chloe jones
1995/09/18

Ignore the last user, this film is definitely worth the view. As a big Dostoevsky fan and film nerd I remember seeing this film listed on the line up for the Boston film festival and was immediately intrigued.I'm very picky when it comes to adaptations of books I like, so I was pleasantly surprised with how well cast the film was. Czerny was a brilliant underground man and Lee (better known at that time from her Twin Peaks fame) was a perfect blend of hard and vulnerable. The only casting choice I was somewhat iffy on was Jon Favreau, who was just starting the "Swingers" hype, I just never pictured him to be the right age and sort for the role.Adapting a book whose entire structure is the monologue ramblings of a conflicted character is not an easy task, but here the film is a perfect blend of snide voice over, action and still manages to convey the spirit of the novel.I'll always remember the Boston Globe reviewer commenting that he never thought one could put Dostoevsky and comedy in the same thought, but somehow this film had. I agree, though I always knew Fyodor had has witty side.All in all I was greatly saddened that the film never got a wide release after that, so I never saw it again, pity I'd have dragged all my literary minded friends to it.

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jacobaustin
1995/09/19

Do not walk, run to the video store and rent this movie. Whoever had the idea and courage to bring this vision to screen should have won big awards and big bucks. Special thanks to Sheryl Lee for a great performance.This film portrays a side of humanity that is never explored by Hollywood because it doesn't make you feel good. Gary Walkow has directed and film for adults that offers a kind of redemption that comes from looking at hard truths.He's either nuts to create such a movie in the middle of an industry that is busy turning out mindless fare for teen age boys or he's courageous to put out a film where good actors create a mirror that reveals the stain on our modern souls.Look at the United States, we're becoming a nation of overweight dim wits from a steady diet of junk food and junk movies. Where are the writers and performers working to imagine ourselves into a better future, a stronger vision of who we are?A handful of them created this film; honor their courage by viewing it.

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