“Lonesome Jim” is the third film directed by the bug-eyed, perpetually hapless character actor Steve Buscemi. At this point, Buscemi has proved that as a director, he has a gift for the job: an observational eye, an ear for the way people speak to each other (and don’t speak to each other), and a grasp of the absurd in everyday life.
What he needs now is better material. “Lonesome Jim,” written by James C. Strouse, is a likable but undercooked movie. It uses familiar conventions of the bummed-slacker genre, but almost seems embarrassed by them at times. Think of it as a more clinically depressed version of “Garden State,” without the cool soundtrack.
The lead role goes to Casey Affleck, who in recent years (“Gerry,” “Ocean’s Eleven”) has seemed a more interesting actor than his older and taller brother Ben. He plays Jim, just returned to his extremely quiet home town in Indiana after trying to stick as a writer in New York City.
A sad sack of the first order, Jim sinks miserably into his family home, where his mom (Mary Kay Place, in her element) dotes on her favorite boy, and his dad (Seymour Cassel) wonders why Jim won’t just settle down and take a job at the factory.
Jim’s brother Tim (Kevin Corrigan), recently divorced, has a one-car accident shortly after he and Jim discussed the meaning of life.
Jim, ever the glass-half-full guy, advised Tim that there was really no point to it all and he might as well kill himself.
| Low-key: Steve Buscemi directs this modest, well-observed study of a depressed slacker (Casey Affleck) returning to his Indiana hometown. Liv Tyler plays the fantasy figure who rescues him.
Rated: Not rated; probably R for language, subject matter Now showing: Uptown |
In the midst of these jolly activities, Jim meets a nurse named Anika (Liv Tyler). She’s an impossible fantasy figure, a fan of casual sex but an endless source of good cheer and enthusiasm. What she sees in Jim is mystifying.
Jim also takes Tim’s job at the factory while his brother is convalescing, which puts him in contact with a rowdy uncle who likes to be called Evil (Mark Boone Junior).
The more I think about “Lonesome Jim,” the more I remember funny moments and subtle truths. I love the way Jim’s mother mispronounces Anika’s name, and the fact that she reminds her husband that he forgot to bail her out of jail (a plot point we won’t get into here).
But I have to admit that after I saw “Lonesome Jim” at last year’s Seattle International Film Festival, I completely forgot it (it took a second viewing to remember any details). Modesty is a fine attribute in filmmakers, but there’s got to be something that makes you want to put the popcorn down and pay attention.
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