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"In My
Darkest 'Hour'"
by Scott Mantz
"Shadow Hours"
Balthazar Getty, Peter Weller
Directed by Isaac H. Eaton
Every year,
thousands of people flock to Hollywood with dreams of fame and fortune,
but only a few of them actually hit the jackpot. The rest are left
to wander the streets of LA and end up taking refuge in the darkest
shadows of the Hollywood nightlife. It's a side of the city that
not too many people see, and those who do usually end up regretting
it. In "Shadow Hours," Balthazar Getty takes his walk on the wild
side, and while the film lacks cohesion and seems contrived, it
has one of those intriguing endings that almost makes it worth it.
Almost.
Michael (Balthazar
Getty) is a recovering drug addict who hates his job as a gas station
attendant right in the heart of Hollywood. When he's not getting
harassed by crazy homeless people, he's getting robbed by junkies
in need of a fix. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Besides, he's got a pregnant wife (Rebecca Gayheart) to support.
Help arrives in the form of Stuart (Peter Weller), a stylish, wealthy,
and adventurous author with a bad case of writer's block. He shows
Michael some of the not-so-finer things that LA has to offer, taking
him to strip bars and night clubs all in the name of "research."
Before long, Michael is torn between his responsibilities and getting
sucked back into the temptations that almost killed him in the first
place. Also, there's more to this well-dressed stranger than meets
the eye.
From the outset,
you have to wonder why a recovering drug addict would so blatantly
put himself in harms way. There are plenty of better jobs to be
had for $7.50/hour, and none of them would test his sanity like
this. Whatever. When Stuart finally makes his grand appearence,
you gotta wonder why Michael would rather spend time with him than
with his incredibly beautiful wife. Again, whatever. But it's problems
like these that keep the audience from making a connection to Michael,
and when his situation goes from bad to worse, there's not much
of an emotional interest to make you care about what happens next.
"Shadow Hours"
may not be a work of art, but it does bear a striking resemblance
to plenty of other films. Getty's experiences become more like a
dream (or a nightmare, depending on your idea of fun) with each
passing scene, and the film's structural progression is slightly
reminiscent of "Eyes Wide Shut." In no less than two scenes, Weller
takes Getty to a hole-in-the-wall dive for a bare-knuckled fist
fight that's straight out of "Fight Club." There's even a Russian
Roulette game a la "The Deer Hunter," and the climax is so far out
that you can't help but think about "Lost Highway" (in which Getty
also starred).
What's really
scary about "Shadow Hours" is how much Getty resembles Charlie Sheen.
He's got that brooding, monotone, even temper that Sheen personifies,
but the difference here is that it works for Sheen. Getty tries
to make his character come across like a martyr, but he only ends
up looking like a fool. Peter Weller, no stranger to bizarre films
with "Naked Lunch" to his credit, adds another quirky character
to his weird resume, but it's too bad he doesn't have better material
to work with. Rebecca Gayheart plays Getty's pregnant wife in what
is basically a nothing role, and genre veteran Brad Dourif adds
some much-needed humor to the film as Getty's boss who seems to
have a few screws loose.
"Shadow Hours"
may be a decent diversion if you have absolutely nothing better
to do (and if you've seen all the other crap that's out there),
but otherwise you'd really have to give yourself over to the film
if you're going to get anything back. In this case, that's asking
alot. If nothing else, maybe "Shadow Hours" can be used as a warning
to keep people from moving to LA. I can see it now--"Welcome to
Los Angeles. Now go home."
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