It's heartening that staunchly independent and relatively obscure filmmaker Henry Jaglom is still getting his films funded, no matter how low budget they may be (and most are). Jaglom, who cut his cinematic teeth as a film editor on Easy Rider, here presents his 20th feature film, centering on a floundering theatrical production where the soap-operatic personal melodramas taking place offstage inevitably threaten the production itself. There is very little in Jaglom's latest that would suggest a departure from his usual hands-off directorial approach, which mostly relies on the actors' ability to improvise believable emotional states and credible dialogue around vaguely sketched plotlines. The focus here is mainly on the verbal seesawing between two characters, middling actress Maggie (Tanna Frederick) and dashing TV-trained actor Stewart Henry (James Denton). But the hoped-for improvisational energy never really develops any substantial interaction; the dialogue exchanges, rather than feeling spontaneous, ironically end up coming across as wooden. Ovation! also suffers from pacing issues, as Jaglom seems content to just let his longer takes play out in a suspended state of pointless noise and chatter. Still, the director does have a fervent (if relatively small) following, so consider this a strong optional purchase. (M. Sandlin)
Ovation!
Breaking Glass, 104 min., R, DVD: $21.99 Volume 32, Issue 1
Ovation!
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