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T O P I C R E V I E W
randall
Posted - 04/23/2010 : 12:55:57 This movie has a great premise: they've learned how to remove your soul from your body and put it in a jar. Furthermore, you can rent somebody else's soul: for example, an actor named Paul Giamatti, played by the actor named Paul Giamatti, is rehearsing UNCLE VANYA in New York and having a hard time nailing it, so he rents the soul of a Russian poet and makes his director smile for the first time. When we first meet him, he's near a breakdown and reluctantly decides to have his soul removed; it seemed like a good idea at the time. Even worse, there's a black market in pre-owned souls between Russia and the U.S., thus the availability of the poet.
This notion has the potential for great satirical stuff, and from the description above, you might think COLD SOULS is a comedy. Though there are some chuckles, it's definitely not: the absurd premise is played completely deadpan. And Giamatti is so good at potraying crushing ennui that it never lightens up unless you yank yourself out of the story to ponder the absurdities [for example, Giamatti's agent calls *him*!]. It takes an even more somber turn in Act III, and the ending is thoroughly unsatisfying.
Nicely acted, especially by Giamatti, David Strathairn [he runs the soul outfit on Roosevelt Island!] and Emily Watson as a *very* long-suffering wife. The technical work is great. But the ominous, well, *soul-sucking* tone works against itself. I'm glad I saw it, but I'll never give it another thought.
