The Moderns

Alan Rudolph's film about the "lost generation" of Americans in Paris in the 1920s stars Keith Carradine as Nick Hart, a painter whose paintings don't sell, and Linda Fiorentino as Rachel—wife of American millionaire and art collector Bertram Stone (John Lone)—who was long ago married to Nick. These fictional characters, along with gossip columnist Oiseau (Wallace Shawn) and art dealer Libby (Geneviève Bujold), interact with real-life figures such as Ernest Hemingway (Kevin J. O'Connor), Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas. The story revolves around a commission to paint copies of three French Impressionist masterpieces for an American woman (Geraldine Chaplin) who is eager to hang on to the originals in a divorce settlement. The film confronts issues of what art and value mean in a culture of commerce in part through Bertram, who is more concerned with price than aesthetics and collects art purely for prestige. Rudolph offers a romantic view of Paris, and his original screenplay is witty and ironic, weaving in playful references to the work of Hemingway and others. Ultimately, The Moderns is an affectionate portrait of American expatriates living in Paris, circa 1926, and a loving tribute to the art and literature that came out of that rich period (and a great companion piece to Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris). Extras include a feature-length documentary with interviews of Rudolph, Carradine, and producer Carolyn Pfeiffer. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)