A Harvard medical student returns to California to complete his training. In tow is his blue blood, East Coast fiancée, who is working on her doctoral thesis. They expect to live in a vacant home his record producer mother owns but she's there with her rock band friends, making lots of noise and smoking dope. He and his mom have a rough history that's about to get worse.
Sam and Alex (Christian Bale & Kate Beckinsale) is a young couple, both want to be doctors, both are working past issues with their parents. Sam's mother Jane (Frances McDormand) is in desperate need of a Billboard hit for her group, under the pressure of her "what
have you done for me lately" agent, Claudia (Melissa De Sousa). She is working on a new single with a boyfriend, Ian (Alessandro Nivola), who is 16 years her junior. They are living in luxurious Laurel Canyon, where the houses have swimming pools and knock out views, where parties have reefer smoking and nude swimming. Jane, long since separated with Sam's father, has gone through a string of lovers, both male and female. Unlike her role in "Almost Famous," McDormand is not a very good parent.
Alex makes the move to the West Coast to escape her stifling parents. The movie opens with a love scene between Sam and Alex, which makes clear that although she is a bookish person, working to complete her thesis on the reproductive habits of fruit flies, Alex may not be as repressed as her parents and their country club friends.
Sam is appalled at living with his mother and wants to find an apartment ASAP. Trouble begins to brew when Alex starts to warm up to Jane's lifestyle and Sam meets second year resident Sara (Natascha McElhone) at the psychiatric ward where he has begun his internship.
Pam loved the film because of its honesty and ability to speak to relationships in a mature manner on multiple levels. Sensuality exudes from all of the lead actors, but with the exception of a face down nude scene of Nivola and a breast flash by McDormand, just about everything is left to your imagination. The love scenes are truly erotic and they bring passion to the film.
George found the direction of some of the relationships somewhat
predictable but nonetheless fascinating. This is a film that makes you wonder what you would do in certain circumstances. Even with its depiction of a quirky Hollywood lifestyle, the actors are so engaging that George went through the entire movie without once looking at his watch, which is a rare event. There are many gem moments in the film, not the least of which is the ending, which has you thinking about what Sam means when he say's "let me call you back in a minute."
How we are brought up, combined with the genes we possess, determines who we are and molds us into the adults we become. We have a vision of what and how we want to do things in life. As we travel that path, innumerable, unpredictable things alter that vision and can even change our values. Your morality can be tested when you least expect it. Even if you do things that would hurt those you love that they may never know about, YOU will know and have to live with it. Some people are stuck on the negative of today and unable to move forward. Others know how to get over it and move on, or as Pam prefers, "go beyond it and move forward." Jane, Sam, Alex, Ian and Sarah all have a choice, which they make while they allow us to share in the decisions.
Soundtrack