THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607270043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 70 lines
``Loaded,'' written and directed by Anna Campion, is filled with fascinating subtext on what the director calls the unique dilemma of today's youth, and the conflict between reality and fantasy. It's too bad that little of this background manages to find its way into the foreground of her boring and talky first effort.
The premise concerns a weekend in which seven young British intellectuals gather at a deserted mansion to produce a homemade horror movie. They are politically aware and socially conscious. With no one in charge, the filmmaking turns into a nonstop argument about artistic choices.
One youth suggests that they ``heighten their reality'' by taking LSD. This leads to a tragedy that they try to deny rather than face.
The cast is made up of a group of unknown British actors, with the exception of the better-known Thandie Newton, who played Thomas Jefferson's mistress in ``Jefferson in Paris''. Here she portrays Zita, a shy type who is trying to find the courage to talk back to her friends. The ensemble is occasionally interesting, but often uneven - the kind of acting that suggests rambling improvisation.
Neil (Oliver Milburn) fantasizes about his therapist. Rose (Catherine McCormack, from ``Braveheart'') is seeking the right situation to lose her virginity. Lance (Danny Cunningham) is brash and arrogant, and imagines he's making a great screen masterpiece. Charlotte (Biddy Hodson) is a well-bred type who is anxious to rebel against her high-society upbringing.
The group balance, already less than idyllic, is shattered when Lionel, a gentle, spiritual sort, arrives by motorcycle and sparks jealousies.
Anna Campion is the younger sister of New Zealand director-writer Jane Campion, who won an Oscar for writing ``The Piano.'' The director's explanation of how and why she made ``Loaded'' is a good deal more interesting than the film itself.
In a recent interview, she claimed that the film reflects the anxieties and lack of commitment of a generation raised on the quick soundbites of television. Yet, none of this shows in the film. She also said that this generation is thwarted by the disparities between wealth and poverty. ``In an earlier generation, our generation, we could hope to change the evils of society. In this generation, there is a feeling that one just waits to see what will happen. There is unemployment and there is a lack of hope - among the educated as much, or more so, than those who are not,'' she said.
Campion said that she got the idea for her script from a newspaper clipping about three well-educated American boys who had a minor accident in their father's car. In an attempt to hide the accident, they ended up committing a major crime - with one boy ending up shot in the head.
In both the film and in that real-life incident, the youths had ``book learning,'' but no idea of how to apply it to the realities of everyday experience, especially when required to make a decision under stressful conditions.
Campion's premise is a good deal more intriguing than her execution. Rather than a thriller, she has produced a muddled and disjointed talkathon that constantly skirts the issues that are somewhere at its center. ILLUSTRATION: MIRAMAX FILMS
Catherine McCormack and Oliver Milburn are two of the relatively
unknown British actors in ``Loaded.''
MOVIE REVIEW
``Loaded''
Cast: Oliver Milburn, Nick Patrick, Catherine McCormick, Thandie
Newton
Director and Writer: Anna Campion
MPAA rating: R (nudity,language)
Mal's rating: **
Location: Naro Theater in Norfolk by CNB