Film, Drama. If only the journey to that destination were a bit more flavorful. Forgot your password? some of his best-known movies have been, but rather feels like a play on film. Some Velvet Morning is like a 90 minute ticking time-bomb that’s ready to explode at any moment, and in the end it does detonate. Some Velvet Morning (470) IMDb 5.8 1h 23min 2013 Stanley Tucci stars as a man who surprises his former mistress (Alice Eve, STAR TREK INTO DARKESS), claiming to have left his wife. In such a scenario, the casting and chemistry of the actors are LaBute wisely lets a lot of individual moments in Some Velvet Morning play out in long takes, giving the actors the time and space to build the scene. LaBute is back to being his black-hearted self once more. But that description makes "Some Velvet Morning" seem uptight, and it’s anything but that. It helps that LaBute has actors as formidable as Tucci and Eve. Her classic good looks and pleasant demeanor suggest a softness to her femininity, but in time she proves she's both quick-witted and quick-tempered. Highly intriguing and verbally thrilling. Aside from the awkwardness of their first few moments together, Fred and Velvet endure an emotional roller coaster and they drag us along for the ride. Some Velvet Morning is at best a missed opportunity and mercifully, a short one. Lee was aware was of this and later said: “We were accused of doing a lot more than just singing, so we decided well, hell, we might as well play it up.” Eventually, pent-up resentments bubble to the surface. He can be affectionate as well as passive-aggressive. You can find Christy's writing at ChristyLemire.com. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. All rights reserved. Posted on December 12, 2013. Some final contextual cues hint that we shouldn't be so sure and suggest that Labute has something to say about ends justifying means. Fred alternates between being needy and condescending. One revelation leads to another, as well as the expected sexual confrontation, but then there's a moment of gentility, of grown-up understanding, and even, well, tenderness of a weird order. It's all transactional. Some Velvet Morning is absorbing and enraging, sure to spark debate both about its meaning and its method. While Some Velvet Morning was not written for the stage, it may as well have been. Eve's constant evolution makes her fascinating to watch, and she more than holds her own opposite the veteran Tucci. (She’s previously stood out in supporting parts in films including "Starter for 10" and "Star Trek Into Darkness."). Visions of Friendship: Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin on The Climb, The Lynchian Aspirations of Losing Alice Underwhelm Rather Than Intrigue, CW Reboots Walker but Forgets to Give Him a Personality, Something as Extraordinary as Birth Itself: Kornél Mundruczó and Kata Wéber on Pieces of a Woman. Though LaBute wrote this for the screen, I mistakenly decided that it must have originated onstage... because the oblique, heavily freighted dialogue seems too elegant and artful for a medium dominated by hacks. Sign up here. But when she rejects his attempts to rekindle their romance, … As they fumble to form a civilized conversation, they misread each other's signals and tell bad jokes that fall flat. LaBute lets his characters reveal themselves in drips and drabs as they get reacquainted and rehash what went wrong in their relationship. There is a problem with your e-mail address and we are unable to communicate with you. Fine acting aside, this is a story that should have remained untold. It features two actors in an enclosed setting—a tastefully decorated New York brownstone—doing nothing but talking in real time over the course of 82 minutes. Some Velvet Morning, released in December of 2013, has been described as one the most “fucked-up mainstream movie[s] of the year.” It was written and directed by Neil LaBute and stars Alice Eve and Stanley Tucci. Now, with “Some Velvet Morning,” we have the cynical, chauvinist, male character back as the lead. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Summary: Fred (Stanley Tucci) arrives at the doorstep of his beautiful young mistress Velvet (Alice Eve) after four years apart, claiming to have finally left his wife. The major visual idea is to have Eve's red dress and lipstick stand out against a monochromatic backdrop: effective in itself, but not enough. I hope he stays here a while. In all his character's forms, Tucci remains vibrant and unpredictable—intimidating, even, despite his slight stature. Please … I knew before watching 'Some Velvet Morning' that it would be a good film because Stanley Tucci stars. Now they can finally be together, he insists happily—and whether Velvet actually wants that, or ever wanted that, is at the heart of the debate over the rest of the film. Not rated (language, violence, sex). Sydney Morning Herald August 4, 2014 The look of Some Velvet Morning remains clean and flat, the decor [is] mostly hotel-room neutral. With Some Velvet Morning, LaBute returns to the provocative style that made his name. By Robert Levin. The absolute ending of "Some Velvet Morning" is a stunner, one that is sure to irk and awe viewers in equal measure (I’m in the latter camp). LaBute's latest, Some Velvet Morning, was written for the screen, but it might as well be a theatrical exercise. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. It's a slow burn but the tension is undeniable from the start; these two people are definitely not on the same page, and watching the balance of power teeter back and forth between them is riveting. Christy reviewed films for The Associated Press for over 14 years. She can be brutal as she brandishes hidden secrets like weapons. Sometimes he’s like a scolding father figure, while at other times he's like a jilted teenager. More importantly, it’s a phenomenal performance piece, with LaBute capturing the incredible gifts of two masters of pretense. Some Velvet Morning: Movie review. Stanley Tucci and Alice Eve in ‘Some Velvet Morning’ ... Movies Reviews Velvet Morning. At the City Cinemas Village East, Second Avenue near 12th Street. Never mind that Fred and Velvet haven't been romantically involved for about four years, and that things ended badly. And eventually getting physical with each other. 1 out of 5 stars. Time Out says. Review: What a strange but we'll made movie which is based around a conversation between 2 people, about there relationship. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | Dec 12, 2013 at 1:23 PM . and the Terms and Policies, By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Christy Lemire is a co-host of the YouTube film review show "What the Flick?!" She's also on Twitter @christylemire and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/christy.lemire2. Movie review: ‘Some Velvet Morning’ — 2 stars. 1 out of 5 stars. What I didn't expect was a GREAT film. This dark and dismal psychological exercise features two winning performances in a film that warrants excited discussion after its closing frames. Fred (Stanley Tucci) arrives at the doorstep of his beautiful young mistress Velvet (Alice Eve) after four years apart, claiming to have finally left his wife. It’s difficult to discuss “ Some Velvet Morning,” the latest movie from Neil LaBute, without giving away too much. The film might have worked if Fred’s cluelessness were meant to be ironic, and if there were a sense of real give and take between the characters (as there was in the similarly themed Two Girls and a Guy), but Some Velvet Morning is a rigged game—another La Bute monologue disguised as a dialogue. Despite the lack of action involved with two people having one long conversation, the film is somehow completely hypnotic. Velvet, meanwhile, is the cool and confident icy blonde in the great Hitchcockian tradition. We can say this: It represents a return to the kind of writing and filmmaking with which Neil LaBute made his name. This smallest of films marks a welcome return to the world of interpersonal miniature for the writer-director. Some Velvet Morning is the type of film which makes you yell at the screen and get frustrated to the point you want to jump into the movie and do something. And bickering. LaBute may not be saying anything novel about constricting gender roles and the cynical ways in which we sell ourselves out, but he is saying it in his signature, provocative style. Read full review Her reverie (and ours) comes to an abrupt end with the arrival of an unexpected visitor at her front door: Tucci’s expensively dressed Fred, an attorney who has shown up unannounced with whatever belongings he could stuff into his suitcases. "Some Velvet Morning" is not based on one of his stage productions, as If not longer. There is that horrible climax and then the ridiculous twist that makes you go, oh, this was an even bigger waste of time than I already thought it was. We are not responsible for its content. When the movie begins, these two characters are blank slates that the … Unsettling and unforgettable Fred arrives at the doorstep of his beautiful young mistress Velvet after four years apart, claiming to have finally left his wife. Copyright © Fandango. Don't have an account? You'll want to watch the film again immediately, and it will rattle around in your head for hours. It first appeared on Sinatra's album Movin' with Nancy, the soundtrack to her 1967 television special of the same name, which also featured a performance of the song. It features two actors in an enclosed setting—a tastefully decorated New York brownstone—doing nothing but talking in real time over the course of 82 minutes. by J.R. Jones; Dec 18, 2013 Did you see ''Some Velvet Morning''? But when she rejects his attempts to rekindle their romance, his persistence evolves into obsession, and a dark history between the former lovers comes into focus. A sad example of what sometimes happens when a writer of gripping stage plays controls his own independent movie to his own selfish, labored self-satisfaction. Fred says he's finally left his wife of 24 years for Eve's Velvet (a name we learn is not really hers, and one she detests), a much younger Brit with whom he’d had an affair. It was subsequently released as a single before appearing on the 1968 album, Nancy & Lee. Some Velvet Morning: Mum's the word For once our movie critic manages to keep his trap shut. Some might view the end as a cruel prank at the expense of moviegoers while others might consider it a cop-out, but perhaps the point of it all is that we should not rush to judgment when it comes to Mr. LaBute's theater of cruelty. Really. ET Dec. 26, 2013 Alice Eve and Stanley Tucci in a scene from the film “Some Velvet Morning.” And flirting. The ultimate news source for music, celebrity, entertainment, movies, and current events on the web. They play beautifully off each other, even as (or perhaps especially when) they're hurling ugly sentiments back and forth. S difficult to discuss “ Some Velvet Morning '' seem uptight, she... ’ — some velvet morning movie review stars as they fumble to form a civilized conversation, misread. 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