Cold Souls

Charlie Kaufman's scripts for Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are the obvious inspiration for writer-director Sophie Barthes' debut film, but despite a promising premise and a certain quirky charm—mostly due to its star—the overall effect is rather pallid. Paul Giamatti plays an actor named Paul Giamatti, who is stressed over his rehearsals for Uncle Vanya. Paul hears about a service offered by a Dr. Flintstein (David Strathairn) that extracts one's soul and puts it in storage, freeing the individual from emotional baggage, which the actor believes will help liberate his talent. Unfortunately, after the procedure, the transformed Paul proves hapless in his craft, and a second attempt simply makes matters worse. Paul's difficulties are interwoven with those of Nina (Dina Korzun), a Russian “mule” who brings black-market souls to America, literally inside her. When her boss demands the soul of an American star to bolster his girlfriend's career, he has her steal Paul's to bring to Russia. Eventually, Paul and Nina are forced to team up on a retrieval mission. Giamatti juggles the funny and poignant elements gracefully in what's easily his best performance since Sideways, but the film itself never really gels. Optional. (F. Swietek)