I’ll be thinking about this film for days, if not weeks.  How Peter Sarsgaard came through 2005 without an Oscar nomination for this performance is beyond me...

Written and directed by famed playwright Craig Lucas (Reckless, Prelude to a Kiss, Blue Window), Lucas based this screenplay on his play by the same title - and I’d be very curious to read the stageplay.

Perhaps this is a more interesting topic to me than others because I write screenplays, and face the sometimes-brutal reality of marketing a script - being asked by the Hollywood machine to change a script - and trying to find that line in the sand where “compromising for the sake of getting your foot in the door” becomes “selling out.”

But for those of you uninterested in the usual Hollywood bore that is self-indulgent writers or filmmakers telling stories about their craft, their frustration - never fear, as The Dying Gaul has so many levels of complexity bubbling beneath the surface of its plot that there will be something for everyone.  Well, something for anyone who doesn’t demand plot plot plot at all costs (as Gaul is a little vague in that department).  But its vagueness of plot is actually a strength - as it frees up time and energy for the story to go elsewhere - to delve into humanity, implication, and an ambiguity that this medium seldom delivers. 

The trio (Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott, Sarsgaard) all turn in powerful performances that could have easily been overacted by performers of lesser skill.  Clarkson sports Elaine’s self-confidence and charm so believably in one breath, and makes the to her darker self with the slightest of turns.  Scott brings Jeffrey to life with an ego as confused as it is bloated.  And Sarsgaard rocks the house with his portrayal of Robert Sandrich - a subtle, vulnerable and disturbed man grasping at the world with sharp nails.

Technically, the film can’t be denied.  Lucas’ direction is concise, unobtrusive but present.  Bobby Bukowski’s cinematography is a clever blend of realism and dark magic.  And Steve Reich’s score is powerful, brings chills.

Don’t go into this expecting a fast pace or dense plot, but do go in expecting a unique and thought-provoking story that will leave you pondering for days to come...