Truman Capote DVD
Other Voices, Other Rooms
(Director: David Rocksavage, Ariztical 1995)
Do you remember the movies your teacher would make you watch in high school after you'd just finished a chapter in your history book or a crazy-long novel? Well, David Rocksavage's recently re-released film Other Voices, Other Rooms is just that. The no-name actors, zealous accents and crazy costumes will put you right back into your third-row seat in Mrs. Johnson's sophomore English class.
Based on the book by Truman Capote, Other Voices perpetuated two stereotypes that I have about people from the South: first, that they are crazy, and second, that they speak in loud, theatrical drawls reminiscent of a community theater production of Oklahoma! If you haven't read the book, it is about the crazy adventures of Joel Sansom, a boy about the age of ten who leaves his aunt and uncle's home in New Orleans to stay with his father, Ed, at the Landings. So, Joel (played by David Speck) takes the journey to the Landings deep into the bayou. He arrives at a monstrous home that's obviously in need of a good paint job, and is greeted not by his father, but by a woman named Amy - who is an absolute wreck.
Amy Skully (Anna Thomson of Unforgiven) is a petite, frazzled woman who claims to know Joel's father but won't release any details about his whereabouts. She speaks in an incredibly high voice and seems to be confused as to whether she's Southern or British. The pure density of her makeup screams craziness. We get to learn a little more about Amy's inbalance in the next scene, when Joel witnesses her killing a bird with a fire poker. Shortly afterwards, we encounter my favorite character of the movie: Missouri Fever, more commonly known as Zoo, who is a slave working for the Skullys. Zoo (April Turner) is exuberant. She welcomes Joel into her world as she cares for her dying father, Jesus, and reveals her dreams of leaving the Landings once her father dies to work somewhere where there's snow.
But it's Randolph Skully (Lothaire Bluteau of 24) who really holds any part of this film together. Not only is he the single principal actor in Other Voices, Other Rooms to find work in the last five years, but aside from Joel, who tells the story, he's also the main character. Randolph is married to Amy and is quite a character to say the least - he would have to be, to hang around with her. His wardrobe is fascinating, especially since he is rarely out of his pajamas. He has at least four satin robes and one very elegant, hot pink ballgown which he tries on once while he's reminiscing about his days in Cuba. Joel begins spending time with Randolph, who explains his philosophy of life while drinking and chain smoking his hand-rolled cigarettes.
Joel bombards his new aquaintances with questions regarding the whereabouts of his father. No one will tell him anything. So he begins to snoop around the massive house, and sure enough he finds his dad, paralyzed and mute in a bed upstairs. Questions begin to roll. Randolph tells Joel that his father was injured after storming off into the street during an argument about Pepe, a boxer Ed was working with in Cuba. Now as if all this weren't exciting enough, there's more: Joel's letters to his aunt are being stolen out of the mailbox by Amy. Joel develops a deep friendship with the redhead next door and gets bitten by a snake. Zoo's father eventually dies, so Zoo runs off and is beaten by white men on a dirt road. She is brought back to the Skullys' house with a newfound confidence and orders Amy to get her own cup of coffee for once. Zoo is her own woman and I love her for that. The storyline then continues with Randolph preoccupying Joel with a trip to the home of Little Sunshine, a voodoo practitioner, while Joel's aunt comes for a visit. Randolph becomes inebriated and Amy, who is seeing to Joel's aunt, clumsily drops a magnifying glass from a box of Joel's toys that his aunt brought for him as she was trying to shove it underneath the porch. On the way back from their outing, Joel finds his magnifying glass and the shit hits the fan. Questions roll again, and Amy, jealous of the attention Randolph shows Joel, begins to unravel the lies. Randolph tells Joel the truth of his father's "accident" (which involves lust of Pepe and a gun), and that's when Joel decides he's had enough and leaves.
Paul Ryan's cinematography does a great job of portraying the Landings. There were some evocative shots of just the environment itself. It tells you: this is the South. It's hot. There are bugs. The film's acting, on the other hand, was only so-so. Speck does an okay job as Joel; he can act, but he's no Dakota Fanning. With Thomson, I wasn't sure if she was an awful actress or if her character was just that weird. Bluteau was convincing as a drunk, gay man who longed for the past, while Turner's portrayel of Zoo was great for the most part, except for a few confusing instances where was suddenly not on top of her game. In general, Other Voices, Other Rooms is interesting enough; but what really turned me off about the film was how much it reminded me of a theatrical performance, at least in the first half of the movie. So many things were just too much. The wardrobe was intense, too Southern, the accents were a bit much, and it almost seemed as though the cast was trying too hard to convince you where they were. As the film progressed, I'm not sure if everything just became less intense, or if I just got used to it, but it seemed to flow better.
Now, going back to high school, you would have to admit memories of some of those movies aren't too bad. I can assure you that beyond being used as a decent portrayal of Truman Capote's lesser-known novel, this film will offer some hearty laughs at the expense of Amy and Randolph Skully. Zoo is good for some laughs, too. And maybe even Joel. Actually, anything involving the South is good for at least a couple of laughs...and for this reviewer, at least, that has to count for something.
IMDb Listing
Buy It
on Amazon
See Also: seriously, somebody should make a movie out of this dude's life
(Director: David Rocksavage, Ariztical 1995)
Do you remember the movies your teacher would make you watch in high school after you'd just finished a chapter in your history book or a crazy-long novel? Well, David Rocksavage's recently re-released film Other Voices, Other Rooms is just that. The no-name actors, zealous accents and crazy costumes will put you right back into your third-row seat in Mrs. Johnson's sophomore English class.Based on the book by Truman Capote, Other Voices perpetuated two stereotypes that I have about people from the South: first, that they are crazy, and second, that they speak in loud, theatrical drawls reminiscent of a community theater production of Oklahoma! If you haven't read the book, it is about the crazy adventures of Joel Sansom, a boy about the age of ten who leaves his aunt and uncle's home in New Orleans to stay with his father, Ed, at the Landings. So, Joel (played by David Speck) takes the journey to the Landings deep into the bayou. He arrives at a monstrous home that's obviously in need of a good paint job, and is greeted not by his father, but by a woman named Amy - who is an absolute wreck.
Amy Skully (Anna Thomson of Unforgiven) is a petite, frazzled woman who claims to know Joel's father but won't release any details about his whereabouts. She speaks in an incredibly high voice and seems to be confused as to whether she's Southern or British. The pure density of her makeup screams craziness. We get to learn a little more about Amy's inbalance in the next scene, when Joel witnesses her killing a bird with a fire poker. Shortly afterwards, we encounter my favorite character of the movie: Missouri Fever, more commonly known as Zoo, who is a slave working for the Skullys. Zoo (April Turner) is exuberant. She welcomes Joel into her world as she cares for her dying father, Jesus, and reveals her dreams of leaving the Landings once her father dies to work somewhere where there's snow.
But it's Randolph Skully (Lothaire Bluteau of 24) who really holds any part of this film together. Not only is he the single principal actor in Other Voices, Other Rooms to find work in the last five years, but aside from Joel, who tells the story, he's also the main character. Randolph is married to Amy and is quite a character to say the least - he would have to be, to hang around with her. His wardrobe is fascinating, especially since he is rarely out of his pajamas. He has at least four satin robes and one very elegant, hot pink ballgown which he tries on once while he's reminiscing about his days in Cuba. Joel begins spending time with Randolph, who explains his philosophy of life while drinking and chain smoking his hand-rolled cigarettes.
Joel bombards his new aquaintances with questions regarding the whereabouts of his father. No one will tell him anything. So he begins to snoop around the massive house, and sure enough he finds his dad, paralyzed and mute in a bed upstairs. Questions begin to roll. Randolph tells Joel that his father was injured after storming off into the street during an argument about Pepe, a boxer Ed was working with in Cuba. Now as if all this weren't exciting enough, there's more: Joel's letters to his aunt are being stolen out of the mailbox by Amy. Joel develops a deep friendship with the redhead next door and gets bitten by a snake. Zoo's father eventually dies, so Zoo runs off and is beaten by white men on a dirt road. She is brought back to the Skullys' house with a newfound confidence and orders Amy to get her own cup of coffee for once. Zoo is her own woman and I love her for that. The storyline then continues with Randolph preoccupying Joel with a trip to the home of Little Sunshine, a voodoo practitioner, while Joel's aunt comes for a visit. Randolph becomes inebriated and Amy, who is seeing to Joel's aunt, clumsily drops a magnifying glass from a box of Joel's toys that his aunt brought for him as she was trying to shove it underneath the porch. On the way back from their outing, Joel finds his magnifying glass and the shit hits the fan. Questions roll again, and Amy, jealous of the attention Randolph shows Joel, begins to unravel the lies. Randolph tells Joel the truth of his father's "accident" (which involves lust of Pepe and a gun), and that's when Joel decides he's had enough and leaves.
Paul Ryan's cinematography does a great job of portraying the Landings. There were some evocative shots of just the environment itself. It tells you: this is the South. It's hot. There are bugs. The film's acting, on the other hand, was only so-so. Speck does an okay job as Joel; he can act, but he's no Dakota Fanning. With Thomson, I wasn't sure if she was an awful actress or if her character was just that weird. Bluteau was convincing as a drunk, gay man who longed for the past, while Turner's portrayel of Zoo was great for the most part, except for a few confusing instances where was suddenly not on top of her game. In general, Other Voices, Other Rooms is interesting enough; but what really turned me off about the film was how much it reminded me of a theatrical performance, at least in the first half of the movie. So many things were just too much. The wardrobe was intense, too Southern, the accents were a bit much, and it almost seemed as though the cast was trying too hard to convince you where they were. As the film progressed, I'm not sure if everything just became less intense, or if I just got used to it, but it seemed to flow better.
Now, going back to high school, you would have to admit memories of some of those movies aren't too bad. I can assure you that beyond being used as a decent portrayal of Truman Capote's lesser-known novel, this film will offer some hearty laughs at the expense of Amy and Randolph Skully. Zoo is good for some laughs, too. And maybe even Joel. Actually, anything involving the South is good for at least a couple of laughs...and for this reviewer, at least, that has to count for something.
IMDb Listing
Buy It
on AmazonSee Also: seriously, somebody should make a movie out of this dude's life
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