| “You’re a free man,” the parole board tells
convicted felon Emmanuel Jordan, who has served 23 years for
the murder of a young store clerk during a botched robbery.
It’s clear that writer/director Ed Solomon will spend
the remainder of the film proving that no, Jordan is not a free
man. It’s not bars that keep us captive, but our own oppressive
guilt.
And indeed, Levity meanders down that rather heavy-handed
path, but it saunters so elegantly that you can’t really chide
the film for its faults. Chock full of some of the best actors
working today—including Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan
Freeman, Holly Hunter, and Kirsten Dunst—the
film establishes itself as a movie with a message, but one
content to preach it quietly.
Thornton stars as Jordan, who, upon his release finds employment
at a homeless shelter/youth center presided over by Miles
(the always phenomenal Freeman), a leather-wearing, truth-spouting
reverend with secrets of his own. Jordan also meets Sophia
(Dunst), a rave kid who attends parties across the street
from the shelter and comes precariously close to overdosing
on more than one occasion. While Dunst is one of the more
talented actresses of her generation, she comes across as
incredibly cloying in this outing. It’s hard to tell if the
fault lies with Solomon’s construction of the role or Dunst’s
characterization.
The most effective character in the film is that of Adele
(Hunter), the no-nonsense sister of the man Jordan murdered.
Jordan—who can’t quite find the nerve to tell her who he is—enters
into a tentative relationship with Adele, whose son seems
close to sharing Jordan’s fate.
Solomon’s direction is sure, allowing the actors to do what
they do best, which is to say that they look gloomy and say
thoughtful things while we anxiously wait for the other shoe
to drop. It’s obvious that Solomon loves the film he is making
by the way the camera gazes lovingly at the characters—not
to mention that he poured $5 million of his own money into
the production.
And to be certain, it paid off. While Levity may not
be a great film, it is definitely a very good one. However,
it is a film that suffers by comparison. Thornton’s role will
bring to mind his performance in Monster’s Ball, a
film whose quality level Levity—though it certainly
struggles admirably—can’t quite reach.
—Erin Steele
|
out
of 5
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