Boarding Gate [Import]

If it weren't for the smoldering performance of Asia Argento, and I'm not talking about the parts where you get to see her tattoos, I would admit defeat and zero this one out. I don't know why the film is called Boarding Gate; the plot is thin and confusing; Michael Madsen can whisper and grunt all he wants and nobody is going to mistake it for good dramatic acting; the film seems to meander along in prologue mode for about forty-five minutes and then, BANG! somebody dies with great surprise; despite the fact that the location moves to a new country, the film doesn't seem to go anywhere; and not understanding the story won't prevent me from saying with confidence that the ending is lame.

Ms. Argento doesn't need to act. She lives the role of Sandra, relying on her naturally scary-cool charisma and complex heart to suck us in to her character--the script isn't going to do it. She's transcendentally tough and vulnerable at the same time. From one moment to the next she is spitting razor sharp barbs and then crying but never weeping, never weak. The incomplete script works to her advantage here. It's not clear why she is attracted so deeply to either of her love interests with the net result that she appears twisted, courting danger and abuse to feel alive.

Contrary to what the movie posters might lead one to believe, Argento doesn't parade around the entire film in her underwear. There's one quick shot of her being thrown to a bed by her lover where upon she delivers the most authentic and erotic response I've seen in a movie, and there's an extended scene in Madsen's apartment where she's in and out of her dress a couple times. The latter is the best scene in the film, not for its limited display of flesh but for the warped cruelty in the battle of wits mirrored in stop/start kinky sex they never manage to get very far along with for one reason or another.

Boarding Gate is billed as a thriller and, given its writer/director's resumé, is supposedly about how selfishly cruel and inhuman the world of contemporary multi-national capitalists can be. Blah blah blah. Who's arguing that point? What emerges from the film is a portrait of a modern day neo-femme-fatale who doesn't dress nice or comb her hair trying to juggle a couple of corporate wackbirds (I stole that word from somebody) to her meager advantage and gets a lesson in betrayal along the way. The action parts of the film, the parts where people run around and shoot guns and stuff, aren't interesting at all. The thriller parts, the parts where mystery and suspense are supposed to propel the film, aren't articulated very well. It's the parts where the players settle down to talking smack on one another to gain psychological advantage that are red hot brutal good. If you are a fan of Asia Argento and like your eroticism dark and implied, or are interested in finding out what Argento is capable of as an actress, then check out Boarding Gate. If you are looking for a good thriller, or a film with a little action and good production values, look somewhere else.

Just so you know, Asia Argento only spends about eight minutes total screen time in black lingerie. If that's your main reason for watching this movie, adjust your expectations accordingly.

"Boarding Gate" is a highbrow version of a straight to video erotic thriller whose main appeal (beyond the aforementioned lingerie) lies in its odd juxtaposition of artsy sheen and pulpy core. The plot is a deliberately unfleshed out contraption involving a love affair gone bad, deadly double crosses, and sinister "corporate" intrigue that will be risible to anyone who has ever had an office job. Even more so than in in most noir, this is just a pretext for an extended exercise in style, or actually two exercises. The first half of the movie is a kinky pas de deux between Argento's Sandra, a prostitute/industrial spy and her former lover Miles (Michael Madsen), a down on his luck financier with whom she remains inexplicably obsessed. (After this movie, Asia Argento's status as an object of desire among pudgy fifty year old guys will be set in stone.) Despite a constant background hum of preposterousness, their meandering confrontations are well done, and the French cinema flourishes seem entirely appropriate window dressing for what is basically a long softcore tease. Then there's a twist, and "Boarding Gate" shifts gears into a protracted chase through the streets of Hong Kong. ("It becomes a B-movie," Argento says with winning candor in the DVD extras.) The cinematography is striking in this half--director Olivier Assayas has a flair for neon cityscapes--but a chase scene is a chase scene, and this one overstays its welcome.

For some, I imagine the movie's insistence on its own wised-up sophistication--the big city glamor of Paris and Hong Kong, Brian Eno on the soundtrack, and the stunt casting of Kim Gordon as a shady corporate player (a mistake: Gordon may the coolest person to have inhabited lower Manhattan in the past twenty five years, but as an actress she's wooden)--will be a bit much. For me, it was all just part of Assayas's jet set fantasy world. Only in a couple of performances, however, does "Boarding Gate" show any actual heart. Michael Madsen brings a certain burly gravitas to what could easily be just another rich guy role, and Asia Argento really shines. Her character slips back and forth between feral eroticism, femme fatale toughness, and dewy vulnerability, often multiple times in the same scene. There isn't a shred of psychological reality to be found here, but you don't care because it's so compelling to watch Argento go running off in five different directions at once. I get the feeling that her performance is the only thing in the film that worked exactly as intended. And, yes, for those eight minutes or so, she looks amazing.

for me this boils down to a simple equation: asia argento + oliver assayas (writer-director) = awesome.

but it also, as i stated in the subject line: asia argento + oliver assays = not for everyone.

that said, despite my four star rating and personal affection for this film it is NOT for everyone. assayas is the key point in this equation, he makes films of a particular ilk. he has evolved a lot throughout his career, and i personally find his films hit or miss. i would not reccommend an oliver assays film to the majority of the people i know, because frankly, i think most people would find them sluggishly paced, pointless, meandering, and "boring." i personally do not feel this way about assayas's films, but a lot of online reviews seem to follow this train of thought.

argento has evolved a lot throughout her career as well. if you've seen her earlier work, she used to be...a particularly bad actress. but she's really come into her own. her acting is underrated imo, and unique. her filmmaking while flawed, is particularly ambitious and one-of-a-kind (i'm speaking more of "the heart is deceitful above all things" rather than the rather ho-hum "scarlett diva.") i think if you really want to see her ACT, "the Last Mistress" (which is also a more accessible, traditional French period film) is essential viewing. this performance is good, but not her best.

argento is sexy, i won't lie. assayas is considered one of france's leading filmmakers, he lately has been doing international co-productions often largely in english.

but while argento and assayas are a match made in heaven imo, i would warn people who are simply expecting a sexy argento film, or even those expecting a tradtional inernational fillm, this is not it.

i don't know if i'm allowed to say this, but i would suggest (if you haven't already) renting before just immediately buying. that may go without saying, but i know many people who buy movies before seeing them, so that's why i mention this (i'm not trying to be cheeky or anything.)

one final note...i did not see this in theatres, so i have no reference point. but my suspicion is that the image (less so than audio) is not the greatest transfer in the world. it could be an intentional "look" assayas was striving for, but having only seen the dvd (and owning it), i have to say the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired. (and that it is being viewed both with and without an upscaler, no less.)