NEW Forty Shades Of Blue (DVD)

Subtle, nuanced and totally internalized, Ira Sachs' gorgeously evocative Forty Shades of Blue might be a bit too restrained for most audiences. It's a striking and terribly lonely character study of people aching to connect, and a truly delicate story of conflicted and damaged people, all faced with difficult choices.

Rip Torn - who last year probably should have received an Oscar nomination - stars as Alan James, a boozed out, aging Memphis writer/musician and record producer who is having a party in his honor. Alan is a bit of a philanderer and a bit of an egotist. We first meet him just as he is abandoning his gorgeous Russian trophy girlfriend, Laura (Dina Korzun) so he can fool around with another woman in a hotel room.

Laura is well aware of Alan's wayward ways and his penchant for adultery, but as a Russian bride, she's also cognizant of the fact that Alan can give her a life she could only have dreamed of back in Russia. She puts up with his raging, his infidelities, and his temper tantrums because she loves him - she's also full of gratitude - and also because they share a three year old son.

For his part, Alan deeply loves Laura, but his passion is tempered by deep-seated insecurities - he can give her the material, but perhaps not the sexual or spiritual. This is made even more palpable when Alan's handsome English teacher son, Michael (Darren E. Burrows) visits from California.

Michael has problems of his own. Stuck in an unhappy marriage with a newly pregnant wife, he is immediately attracted to Laura; part out of loneliness and probably because he sees in her a similar kind of vulnerability. Michael also freely admits that Alan has been a rotten father, although of late relations have been cordial enough, but it clearly can't have been easy for Michael to have grown up as Alan's son.

As Michael and Laura navigate the treacherous forty shades of blue, both are faced with difficult choices, especially Laura who feels so utterly alone and isolated in her chic life. The performances are astounding - Rip Torn is truly spectacular as the earthy, drunken Alan who lives for the past and yet can't quite quit being self-obsessed and ego-driven.

Director Ira Sachs moves to the rhythms of his native Memphis, teasing poignant significance out of the quiet domesticity of life and really capturing the city's gritty and coarse allure. The movie is full of meaning and muffled yet suggestive moments. You can really feel Laura and Michael being pulled together, they're both well aware of their commitments to their spouses, but just seem to be desperate for each other.

When choices are made and the characters eventually movie on, viewers will be truly left wondering and the impact of the final pivotal scene is absolutely devastating. Laura is so alienated she spends most of her days shopping in upscale malls and boutiques. Self-examination comes hard to her, but when it does the impact is all the more dramatic for it. This movie is absolutely haunting in its spare, stripped-down depiction of lost souls bound together; it is indeed a true masterpiece. Mike Leonard July 06.

This is the best movie I've seen in a long, long time. Rip Torn is perfect for this role; and the actress playing his wife is as well. If you like character studies, the finest cinematography around, the best script writing, excellent directing and feeling like you are a "fly on the wall" in the finest drama you have ever seen---buy this film. It never lets up, it never overdoes, it just gives you exactly what you need. And all without anyone blowing anyone elses brains out!

I love how the story unfolds, the beautiful flawed characters, the simplicity of the performances, every single one. I could feel the strain in the married couple's interactions, as well as hope and perhaps surrender. Rip Torn is fun to watch in this film as well as others, but I was completely blown away by Darren Burrow's performance. (My mind was like, holy cow, that guy played Ed Chigliak in the Northern Exposure series.) Even without the comparison, his performance, restrained and so completely authentic, is over the top, fantastic. The entire film just hits an authentic chord.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars