Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh, Natasha Lyonne
Dafoe and Leigh moap around their New York loft as they await the end of the world, due to arrive at 4:44 the next morning.
The advent of digital video has meant film-making has become much more accessible. Whereas in the past it would cost a fortune and take a lot of convincing to make would be financiers part with their cash, now you just need a camera and some talent. Ferrara has a camera.
From the opening scene of Leigh smearing paint on her pretentious Pollock style canvas, I knew this movie was not for me. Every character epitomizes the sort of New York post-Warhol, Lou Reed wannabe intellectual that makes the rest of America despise the city. For some reason Ferrara seems to think audiences want to watch these douchebags dance around their lofts, cigarette in one hand, glass of wine in the other, while the Dalai Lama gives a talk about achieving harmony in the background.
The movie seems partly funded by Skype, characters are constantly using it to communicate, mostly to watch other douchebags dance around their lofts. I don't think I've ever heard the name of a product spoken so many times in one movie. At one point a character even gets corrected for mispronouncing it as "sky-pee". Yep, those New York liberals hate big corporations, except when they make stuff they use themselves.
If you're the type of person who wears black-rimmed glasses even though you don't need them, this may be the film for you. If however you're not an insufferable prick, avoid this.
Oh, and in Ferrara's mind, even on the last night on earth you'll still be able to order Chinese takeout.
1/10
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