Review #76 of 365 Film: Sorry, Haters [NR] 86 minutes
WIP: $9.00
When 1st Seen: 27 March 2006
Where Viewed: Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli, Denver, CO
Time: 5:30 p.m.
First, let’s get the obvious out of the way…what on earth does is the title, “Sorry, Haters” all about? The title is actually very significant with multiple layers of meaning for those that see the film, however, the basic, straight up answer is that “Sorry, Haters” is the title of a television show for which one of the characters in the film works. The television series showcases the ‘ridiculous’ ways that wealthy people spend money and indirectly attributes societal issues, such as teenage breast augmentation surgery, to the media-driven motivation that everyone expect to live the lives of the rich and famous. Getting past the title, the film, which is in very limited release right now, is a devious, psychological thriller on the order of Single White Female or Wicker Park masquerading as a film about a woman who has deeply rooted animosity about the mistreatment of American citizens post-9/11. Part of my gut reaction to the film was to lambaste this aspect because the more that movies and television portray Arabs and Muslims in such negative terms, the worse the issues become. Then, I moved past that and began to focus on the stupefying, jaw-dropping twist in the middle of the film and the horrifying climax at the end. The film is so tragic and, on some levels, unfulfilling in the end that I suspect quite a number of viewers may feel cheated out of their admission dollars. There is no happy ending here. But, I don’t think you should hate the film for that reason. I love happy endings too; but, I also like films that take risks even if they don’t totally succeed.
With all that for background, “Sorry, Haters”—which I am putting in quotations here due to the presence of the comman in the title even though movie titles should not be in quotation nor italics because they are neither plays nor books—was written and directed by Jeff Stanzler and stars Robin ‘the Jenny of Forest Gump’s affection’ Wright Penn as Phoebe the “Sorry, Haters” television series worker and Abdel Kechiche as Ashade the NYC cab driver who inadvertently falls victim Phoebe’s plans on a night when he really just wants to get home. Her plans begin with a late night cab ride to a New Jersey home where she states she used to live and be married to the man of the house. After committing a small act of vandalism on the new car in the driveway, she engages Ashade to her services for the rest of the evening culminating in her learning, when he stops during the cab ride to check up on his relatives, that Ashade and his sister-in-law are doing everything in their power to get Ashade’s brother returned to the USA from Syria where he was deported on suspicion of being or being affiliated with a terrorist just after 9/11. Phoebe is at once furious for this injustice, yet her obvious outrage is peculiarly off-putting due to the ways she throws around her unearned privilege making calls left and right to lawyers she knows and demanding immediate satisfaction on the matter. Trust me though when I say that this is barely the tip of the iceberg that awaits, just off shore, to be released to rampage once more of Phoebe’s plans are revealed. At which point, you can imagine, Ashade concludes he needs to be out and far away from her. Well, that is as much of the plot that should be given away at this time. I promise, you do not know the half of it—just enough to whet the appetite.
The directing, filming, writing, and acting were all superb. Fans of the TV series “Grey’s Anatomy” will enjoy seeing Sandra Oh moonlighting in this movie. Meanwhile, this could be Robin Wright Penn’s career-defining performance. She isn’t just in this film, she is the film. I do agree with the marketing campaign that this is a tense, psychological drama with completely unexpected and inexplicable twists. As for negatives, the film is a bit slow in spots, and the incessant portrayal of Muslim people as the soup du jour bad guys in movies has got to stop right now. Also, “Sorry, Haters” has useful political questions which it handles well and forces us back into the headlines so that we might stay informed. This is a, good, but not super-amazing movie. The W.I.P. is $7 for the movie and $2 just for Penn so $9.
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