Thighs Wide Shut

Certified Copy
The Reel Deal
Official Website | Trailers & Mo

She’s a bitter Betty.  He’s a pompous jerk.  She’s an antique dealer that can speak English, Italian and French.  He’s an English writer who learned a couple of paragraphs of Italian, so he has something to say at his book singing in Tuscany.  She wants to get a few signed copies of his book, naturally titled Certified Copy (read the wiki entry on ‘certified copy’), even if she doesn’t care for the book.  He’s happy to sign a few books, and doesn’t seem to care what she thinks.  He has an afternoon free, so she takes him on a lil countryside tour.  At first, they appear to be total strangers, but as time passes, maybe they’re not!  Maybe they’re a married couple with married problems, or maybe they’re just playing it as so (after they are mistaken as a married couple), and THUS becoming a certified copy of a married couple! How profound, and yes, it hactually all is!

She is Juliette Binoche, and her character is listed as ‘she’.  He is William Shimell, a first time actor, all-time operatic baritone, and his character is James Miller.  She acts like a pro (cause she is one, and she might juss be our mos flavorite actress alive!!! eat that Lohan).  He, not so much, cause he’s never acted before, but it works quite well for Iranian writer/director Abbas Kiarostami‘s lil exercise in what is real, and what is not, and where the lines blur, and where they are clear (not so clear in many places!).  As you can probably tell, Kiarostami’s first film outside of his native country is equally as fascinating as it is frustrating

Why is she taking out all of her life’s troubles on him?  Is she projecting, or does he deserve it?  Why is he such a bastard?  Can he not play along, or is he guilty of being a bad husband, or person in general?  These aren’t rhetorical questions folks.  They are questions we are still wrestling with weeks after seeing it.  Remember, if yer still thinking about a film well after the fact, then that’s usually a really good sign of quality filmmaking. And yet, that’s also the case if the film is a disaster on the eyes and mind (Enter The Void???) or is juss a piece of sh$t or both (Zardoz?????)

Some moviegoers take ease, tanning under fluff like Under The Tuscan Sun, but why not take the hard route, and get yer mind burnt over this Tuscan sun instead.  She and he would like that, and so would we.  That’s what we said

Faking It: faking real doesn’t get much real-faker than art forger Elmyr de Hory and Howard Hughes bio hoaxer Clifford Irving, both profiled in Orson Welles’ muss see F for Fake

Verdictgo: cause weees still thinking bout it, a low end Breast In Show

Copy is 5reals this Friday in NY/LA only, elsewhere elsewhen, and on demand 3/23!

and until next thyme the balcony is clothed…