comment #1

Rich S. says ...

You would think that the Reno:911 movie would have really pumped up demand for this sort of thing.

comment #2

Breedlove says ...

I was just watching Jason Patric in 'Geronimo: An American Legend' the other night. Very odd performance. He does the Johnny Depp, hey-look-I'm-an-effeminate-cowboy thing.

comment #3

Arizona Joe says ...

Interesting article about the film and its Italian directory, talking about the transitional period of Internet distribution of film, and of human relationships on the internet.

I did not grasp the film's concept in its entirety, but it seemed to me to be sort of a f*ck buddy movie. Pardon my coarseness.

comment #4

lbeale says ...

My review from Film Journal International. The hed says "Doormat meets complete jerk. Complications ensue, none of them all that interesting."

Claire (Samantha Morton) is a Los Angeles parking-enforcement officer who has to put up with all sorts of abuse while doling out tickets. She’s a quiet, almost creepily reserved woman who lives with her physically disabled, mute mother (Teri Garr). One day Claire meets fellow officer Jay (Jason Patric), a foul-mouthed and abusive type who is estranged from his rock-star son, and spends his downtime trolling porn sites on the Internet.

Jay develops a thing for Claire, and over the course of several weeks he keeps pressing his attentions on her, even though it’s pretty obvious to anyone with any kind of relationship radar that this is one guy you should stay far, far away from. But Claire, who’s desperate for attention, and is easily manipulated, finds it impossible to refuse Jay’s come-ons. Quicker than you can say “Danger dead ahead,” she’s going out with him, sleeping with him, even wearing the spangly “fuck-me” bikini Jay buys for her to fulfill one of his fantasies.

Relationships like this can’t possibly grow and survive, so it’s no surprise that this one comes to a crashing end when Jay’s abusive behavior becomes too much for even Claire to take. By this time, however, the inevitability of the situation, and the lack of sympathy for the characters, makes Expired something of a slog. About halfway into the film, the desire to smack Claire and wake her from her somnolent state becomes almost overwhelming. That, and a number of ludicrous scenes—such as one where Claire goes to a Christmas party, leaving her mom, who has just died, face down in a bowl of mashed potatoes—do not do much for the film’s credibility.

Not that you can fault the actors. Morton gives a realistic performance as the wallflower, and Patric is absolutely scary as a man who cannot control his inner demons. Plus Garr, who is showing the effects of her battle with MS (her right arm is paralyzed), is excellent in a dual role as the mute mom and her crazy sister. But writer-director Cecilia Miniucchi’s screenplay is an unwieldy blend of pathos and unsettling moments, which become increasingly uninteresting as the film trudges to its dreary conclusion. Fact is, we’ve seen doomed and abusive relationships like this in any number of films, and except for a trifecta of solid performances, Expired adds nothing new to the mix.

comment #5

Arizona Joe says ...

Thank you for the review. Dreary is it.

Jason Patric plays so many unpleasant personalities and detestable characters, you wonder where he gets all that.

Teri Garr, best wishes to her.

comment #6

Gabriel says ...

This sounds like the kind of thing Jason Patric would KILL in. I may give it a shot just for that, as dismal as it sounds otherwise.

comment #7

LexG says ...

Let there be NO doubt.

JASON PATRIC OWNS YOUR ASS.

comment #8

Edward says ...

I watched the trailer on the NY Times site last night. Thought it looked interesting.

comment #9

LFF says ...

I don't think its a good idea to type "JASON PATRIC OWNS YOUR ASS" beneath a picture of him wearing a police uniform and that mustache.

comment #10

dsqadsa says ...

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comment #11

Glenn Kenny says ...

I'm with Mr. Beale. 100 percent. That this pic is somehow gaining traction as a poster child for neglected indies is...scary.

comment #12

movieirv says ...

Two things are weird here: First, even thouygh I admire all three of them, I wouldn't call Samantha Morton, Jason Patric and Teri Garr "an all-star cast."

Second, the article states that "The Conversation" was from Universal. Everyone knows it was a Paramount release. I can;t believe the writer didn;t know it. and this is in the NYT, the newspaper of record.

comment #13

Richardson says ...

"That this pic is somehow gaining traction as a poster child for neglected indies is...scary."

I find that, when an indie filmmaker has nothing to market their film on, "Hey, indie films are inherently worthy of support" is their last refuge. It generally means "I didn't think at all about the potential audience while making this movie, and now nobody wants to see it for some reason."