Till Human Voices Wake Us

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2021.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Open Hearts"><U>Open Hearts</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2012.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marcus Theatres in Gurnee, Illinois"><U>Marcus Theatres in Gurnee, Illinois</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2011.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boseman and Lena"><U>Boseman and Lena</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2010.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spirited Away"><U>Spirited Away</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1995.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Interview with Keith Fulton Louis Pepe"><U>Interview with Keith Fulton & Louis Pepe</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1882.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rivers Tides"><U>Rivers & Tides</U></A>   |   <B>Till Human Voices Wake Us</B>   |   <A HREF="id2022.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Poolhall Junkies"><U>Poolhall Junkies</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="new"><U>new</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1948.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boat Trip"><U>Boat Trip</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Page for</B></div> <div> <B>      </B><A HREF="http://newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>           </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>                   </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Till Human Voices Wake Us</div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="14a15eea0.png" border=0 width="350" height="234" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="501" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1996 WIDTH="495"><div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Till Human Voices Wake Us </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Wingdings 2" ><B>êê</B></FONT><B> </B> ( R ) (Drama)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By Cathy Edsey Collins</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Wake me when it's over</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Guy Pearce: Sam Franks</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Helena Bonham Carter: Ruby</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Brooke Harman: Silvy Lewis</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Lindley Joyner: Young Sam Franks</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Peter Curtin: Dr. David Franks</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Frank Gallacher: Maurie Lewis</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="269"><div> Directed and written by:</div> <div> Michael Petroni</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="38" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: An expert on the psychology of repression and memory confronts his own painful past when he returns to his childhood town to bury his estranged father.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> There are two types of memory loss, Sam Franks (Guy Pearce) lectures his audience-active and passive forgetting. It becomes clear as the movie progresses that Sam is suffering from big time denial himself. Unexpectedly called to return home to be with his dying father, Sam is plagued with the remembrances that made him escape years before. A cold, undemonstrative father, Dr. Franks rarely looks in his son's eyes and barely speaks to him. "I'm with a patient" is his reprimand to his son when Sam excitedly returns home after a long absence and drops by his father's office for a reunion.</div> <bR> <div> As a youngster, Sam's best friend is Silvy (Brooke Harman), a crippled young girl slowed down only slightly by the cumbersome metal braces on her legs. Together they marvel at nature and play word games, often with Silvy riding on the back of Sam's bike.  At the lake late one night, as they float on their backs Sam-- caught up in their conversation and a shooting star-- inadvertently lets go of Silvy's hand. Incredibly, Silvy's heavy braces drag her to the lake's bottom where she drowns. (Exactly how this could occur so noiselessly and so rapidly is not really explained.)</div> <bR> <div> These flashbacks are interlaced with the present-day appearance of the mysterious Ruby (Helena Bonham-Carter), a suicidal amnesiac who is rescued from her bridge jump by Sam. As their relationship develops, questions arise. Who is this odd woman who rants in a way that seems jarringly familiar? Sam suspects that she is the spirit of Silvy returning to put closure on Sam's debilitating guilt about her death.  </div> <div>    </div> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: Between the sci-fi ""Time Machine" and the cleverly convoluted "Memento," Guy Pearce seems to have focused his attention of late on scripts that play fast and loose with the notions of time and space. Adding the elements of a supernatural romance to this mix, "Till Human Voices Wake Us" promises much but becomes mired in confusing innuendo and ambiguity.  Perhaps this mysterious approach was intended by writer/director Petroni but it demands a lot of patience from moviegoers, many who will throw in the towel. Indeed, this is a film that requires thoughtful, alert viewing because the temptation to nod off is potent.  Little is really explained and much is merely implied.</div> <bR> <div> The movie's most absorbing scenes are clearly those that center on the young Sam and Silvy, their budding romance. Brooke Harman and Lindley Joyner, as the young Sam, are impressive in their roles and lend such feeling to their portrayals that the heartbreak of their tragedy is intensely felt.  In the absence of a parent who can truly understand him, Sam's good fortune to have a soul mate in Silvy is a treasure. Her offbeat comments on life ("You can smell things better when it's quiet.") are refreshing and one of the script's highlights.</div> <bR> <div> Ultimately, however, the film's languid pace becomes its undoing. While the childhood flashbacks are fascinating, the present-day story lags, and one longs for something understandable to occur. Begging for post-viewing discussion, "Till Human Voices Wake Us" gives enough material to have that conversation go on all night. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Rated R for sexuality</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Cathy Edsey Collins © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="Cathyedsey@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cathyedsey@aol.com"><U><U>Cathyedsey@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="471" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 58 WIDTH="178"><div> Guy Pearce: <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id1763.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id17"><U><B>"Time Machine"</B></U></A><B>, "</B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id1913.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id19"><U><B>Memento"</B></U></A><B>, </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id1776.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id17"><U><B>Count of Monte Cristo</B></U></A><B>"</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Helena Bonham Carter: <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id1924.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id19"><U><B>"Novocaine", </B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id1939.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id19"><U><B>"Planet of the Apes",</B></U></A> "Room With a View"</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 57 WIDTH="178"><div> Brooke Harman: "The Kelly Gang", "Pirates Island" (TV)</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Lindley Joyner: film debut</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 132 WIDTH="178"><div> Peter Curtin: <A HREF="id1888.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Darkness Falls"><U><B>"Darkness Falls"</B></U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Frank Gallacher: "Dark City"</div> <bR> <div> Michael Petroni: feature film directorial debut; writer for "Miracles" (TV), "Queen of the Damned", <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id1901.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2002/id19"><U><B>"The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys"</B></U></A></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>