Save your money for something good and enjoyable

An Exercise In Nonsense

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Back when Ridley Scott made Blade Runner, it wasn't that well-received by critics, and for many years ended up relegated to being a "cult classic". That seems to be the fate that awaits adaptations of Phillip K Dick's stories into movies that try to keep sight of the Question behind themRadio Free Albemuth, at its core, involves real people like you, me, your neighbor down the road, that kid you knew in grade school. In a time when "gritty realism" in movies is neither gritty nor realistic, it eschews the usual "enhancements" demanded by entertainment to stay true to the original story.Part of that is undoubtedly because as an Indiefilm it was budget constrained, but it is more trying to stay true to the source material without adding in the bells and whistles people demand.RFA isn't a movie you can just watch and come away feeling good about yourself after, but it *is* PKD - given Shea Wigham seems to have been channelling PKD while playing him in the movie, just watch his performance and you'll see what I mean :)Blade Runner is no longer a "cult classic", now it's "visionary" and "prophetic". To some, Radio Free Albemuth already qualifiesRFA is about a group of normal people, flawed warts and all, in an impossible situation, trying to figure out a way to live when the odds are against them. In retelling that story the movie keeps to one precept of PKD's works that most movie adaptations seem to have forgotten:Real life doesn't come with a soundtrack

I love Philip K. Dick, the author of the novel from which this film is derived, and have followed all the various film adaptations with interest for many years. Some have been very good, some less so, some faithful to at least the spirit of the source material, some less so. I was thrilled to find this on Netflix, since it is one of his major works, in my opinion. I really wanted to like it. I wanted it to be good. It was not. I honor the intention to be faithful to the book, and it was, much more so than, say, Blade Runner, although BR is by far the superior movie. But this was poorly paced, flat, plodding, monotonous, and unrealistic. I realize this last may seem odd given the plot and theme, but lots of movies are about fantastical concepts and still manage to be realistic, in the sense that they create a coherent, consistent reality around those concepts and play out the story with verve and imagination, qualities this adaption lacked. The dream sequences were cheesy. Although Alanis Morissette brought some star power to the proceedings, and she was very good, the acting was poor. The direction left weird gaps in the sequences. The seams showed in this production. One pet peeve: I realize their budget was probably small, but could they not afford a few establishing shots of Berkeley? They kept saying they were in Berkeley, and then showing shots of a city clearly not Berkeley. It's a pretty iconic location, all you need is a few shots of the campus, the campanile, and the bay. This is indicative of the lapses and lack of imagination in this adaptation of a work of supreme imagination.

...then you may like this adaptation, or at least that seems to be the general consensus. Personally while I have read most of his work, this one left me cold.A fairly slow moving alternate history drama with mediocre acting.Cinematography was dark(fitting for the story) and done fairly well.Special effects were obviously low budget and not in a good way.Production values were low.Story was potentially good but not well presented.Overall, I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this one.

Full disclosure: a producer of this film is my cousin. She is also the wife of the writer/director.This is one of the most utterly sincere films ever made. That is high praise. I am a lawyer. This movie reminds me a new lawyer who prepares his argument in front of a judge with impossible carefulness and utter conviction in the rightness of his cause. Some mid-career judges might overlook that meticulous preparation and utter conviction because they are impatient to call the case with the notable lawyer, who is in the back of the courtroom drumming his fingers on his costly, leather briefcase embossed with his full name in gold letters. Some mid-career judges fawn over such notable lawyers. That's because they feel important when such a lawyer appears in front of them. They overlook that the notable lawyer lost his sincerity when he learned that he could win without believing, and he lost his passion for the law when he realized that he was rich.This film is an act of devotion. In fact, it has occurred to me that it is an act of religious devotion.I myself am religious. This film is not my religion. But I look upon it as a passionate statement of someone else's utter belief. We still value other viewpoints. We might not share them, but that does not mean they fail to challenge and inform – like many a new and zealous advocates who prepare meticulously and argue with the pure beauty of utter conviction.I have a particular background in a way that I won't describe here. As I watched this film, it occurred to me that that particular dimension of the human condition was depicted more truthfully than it has been in any other film. Those who share my particular background – and there are many of us – will understand when they see the film.The film has its flaws. All films do. I love "To Kill a Mockingbird." But I know many of its faults. I have written a blog- post about them. ("To Kill a Mockingbird: A Crumdgeon's Guide." http://justsayinghere.blogspot.com/2011/09/to-kill-mockingbird- curmudgeons-guide.html )But I so love "To Kill a Mockingbird" that its faults are like the defects of a much-loved woman. Somehow, those faults become inseparable from her beauty – in fact, they are part of her unique beauty.Think of this movie that way.One more thing. Some films are prescient about casting. "Boogie Nights" is a fine movie. (But the first time I saw it, I quit it, and I demanded my money back from the video store.) But whether you love it or hate it, you have to acknowledge that it cast people who went on to great fame and accomplishment. Mark Wahlberg. Heather Graham. Julianne Moore. Philip Seymore Hoffman. John C. Reilly. William H. Macy. Don Cheadle. Of course, some of these actors were already on their way to fame. But it is phenomenal how many actors seem to have gotten a leg up from "Boogie Nights".That has already proved somewhat true for Radio Free Albemuth. The makers of it had an eye for talent on the rise. That may make its place in film history.