Hollywood Reporter.com
This review was written for the festival screening of Laurel Canyon.
In Laurel Canyon, as she did in Almost Famous, Frances McDormand plays a mother who embarrasses the hell out of her kid in a story that takes place in the world of rock music. But what a difference these two roles make. Whereas in Almost Famous her mother fought with uncanny fervor to protect her young son from sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, in Laurel Canyon she plays a record producer deeply immersed in all three areas. Which causes her son, a Harvard Medical School graduate, to worry about even introducing his fiancee to Mom. He has good reason to worry.
A sexual drama with comic overtones, Lisa Cholodenko's Laurel Canyon is a witty film that takes fascinating turns yet contains an unfortunate I-can't-make-up-my-mind-how-to-finish-this ending. The film should make a splash for Sony Pictures Classics later this year within the specialty venue and possibly beyond thanks to a pleasing rock soundtrack, sexy story lines and, above all else, McDormand.
The actress must fall in love with every character she plays. She sees their many faults -- indeed she glories in them -- but so lovingly opens up their lives to a viewer that you can't help loving them along with her.
In this film, she plays Jane Bentley, a soul who can change directions on a dime if mood or whimsy or circumstances so dictate. She is an enthusiastic hedonist and hands-on record producer. Sam (Christian Bale), her son, having long ago given up on Mom, learns he must once more enter her orbit. He has received a residency at a neuropsychiatric institute in his hometown of Los Angeles. He returns with his fiancee, Alex (Kate Beckinsale), also a medical school grad, who is working on a dissertation on drosophila genomics.
He believes that Mom has lent her Laurel Canyon house to this happy couple while she will remain in her beach home. Then Sam drives up to discover that Mom has broken up with her lover, given him the beach house and moved back into her house/studio in the hills to cut a record with her latest band, including a new lover, singer-songwriter Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola), 17 years her junior. Oh, what fun this is going to be!
As days go by, Alex finds herself attracted to the bohemian work and lifestyle of Sam's mother, while Sam becomes engrossed in his patients and work, especially a fellow resident named Sara (Natascha McElhone). Soon Alex is taking long breaks from her thesis to smoke dope in the studio or party at the Chateau Marmont with Mom and the gang. Meanwhile, Sam is drawn into long, soulful discussions with Sara, often in her car after she has driven him home.
Cholodenko's five highly believable characters all start out as types, albeit likely ones, yet quickly take on colorations and resonances that deepen our understanding of who these people are. As with her previous film, High Art (1998), much of the drama stems from the confrontation of "normal" people with the hedonistic lifestyle of artists. Clearly, she is fascinated even as she bears witness to those aspects of such a lifestyle that disrupt true artistry. Cholodenko treats all her characters with balance and insight, not looking for good or bad or whatever else might create controversy but rather what makes people tick.
Her unwillingness to resolve the Alex-Sam-Sara triangle is irritating, though. And certain aspects of the characters' back stories could be clearer. Even so, Laurel Canyon is an absorbing film about men and women and mothers and sons and how choices can forever alter relationships.
