Last night Nat invited Ilya, Z and I to the New York premiere of Brothers of the Head, which is a film about conjoined twins sold by their father to a music promoter who rears them to become something of a punk boy-band. The film is shot like a “rockumentary” (think Spinal Tap or A Mighty Wind–but a bit trite instead of funny), with interviews from the filmmaker, former band members, manager, etc.
Although I didn’t go to the actual movie-showing for The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (just the after-party), the way that they handled the festivities at the IFC theater was interesting. They had a little red carpet and everything. We, of course, were directed around the carpet. They showed the movie simultaneously on two screens, a move that the director said was purposely done–and fitting–because the movie is about siamese twins. I think this was a last minute ad-lib, because each theater only held about fifty people.
The premise of the flick was great and the music was above average for a fictitious movie, but documentary style is hard to pull off in a dramatic film, as the acting sometimes comes off as unintentionally hilarious. Also, there were too many attempts at artistic shots (a trapped bird flying into a corner of a room, an isolated and decrepit old house in the middle of nowhere) so after a while it felt tired. Characters and plotlines sometimes faded without resolution. The ending was a bit abrupt and they didn’t really spend as much time dissecting it as they could. I suppose, in summation, that without the documentary-style presentation, and with more focus on the story and less on abstract cinematography, it’d be a very good movie. Much better than The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.
The after-party was held at Don Hill’s, a club I’d sworn I’d never enter by choice. The party was DJ-ed by the MisShapes. I bumped into “the other guy” in the bathroom at IFC theater. While Ilya and Dan conversed between stalls about needing tampons “the other guy” never cracked a smile. Ilya commented mid-Buzzcocks that their selection of music wasn’t bad. Sigh. What a hipster. Z and I bumped into one of the two brothers that shared lead-role(s) in the movie getting a drink. There was free Jameson’s and Bass Ale, and you can’t go to a movie industry party without some other fun treats, so when the room was noticeably clearing out we decided to leave. The drove home was quiet. Stopped at 711 for a soda and some cookies. Went home and slept beautifully. All in a night’s work. Thanks Nat!
“The Best Podcast You Have” has reached episode nine, which is now available for download. I think this is one of the best I’ve heard yet. I think with a little music underneath all the samples it would be incredible. Apparently there are only going to be four more episodes, so we’ll see if Jack can finish strong. Make sure you sign up as a subscriber. To do so, check out Jack’s blog or his Myspace for details.
