Italy, 1989
Directed by Peter Del Monte
Cast:
Jennifer Connelly, Gary McCleery, Laurent Terzieff, Charles Durning, Donald Hodson, Olimpia Carlisi
Directed by Peter Del Monte
Cast:
Jennifer Connelly, Gary McCleery, Laurent Terzieff, Charles Durning, Donald Hodson, Olimpia Carlisi
To many Jennifer Connelly fans, Dario Argento’s bizarre Italian horror film Phenomena (1984) is probably the strangest item on the esteemed actress’ resume. It is not the most obscure one, however. That honor goes to another Italian film, the strange Etoile.
Connelly plays Claire Hamilton, a young and beautiful ballerina who travels to Budapest in order to try out for a renowned ballet school. At her hotel, Claire by chance encounters a fellow American named Jason Forrest (Gary McCleery) when he picks up a ballet shoe she has dropped. The geeky Jason is in Budapest to assist his eccentric, clock-collecting uncle Joshua (Charles Durning) but he is so enchanted by Claire’s beauty that he quickly forgets about everything else. Claire finds Jason charming and it doesn’t take long for romantic feelings to develop between the two.
A ballet shoe brings Claire and Jason together in true fairytale fashion
Charles Durning is onboard to provide comic relief as the clock-collecting Uncle Joshua
Unfortunately, Claire’s ballet audition doesn’t go too well. While waiting in line, she listens to one of the rejected ballerinas tearfully relating how badly she was treated, and when Claire’s name is called, she freezes. Unable to face the audition room, she flees in panic but loses her way and ends up on the stage in an empty, old theater. Instinctively, Claire starts to dance on the stage – not knowing that the ballet school’s director, Marius Balakin (Laurent Terzieff), is observing her from the darkened audience row. Marius can’t believe what is happening before his eyes. “Natalie”, he blurts out in amazement and drops his cane to the floor. Frightened, Claire balks from the stage and escapes to the sunny streets outside.
The ballet director appears to recognize Claire
Shortly afterwards, strange things start happening. In her hotel room, Claire finds a bouquet of black roses, with a note reading, “Welcome back, Natalie”. Upset by everything that has happened, Claire decides to go back to America but while she is at the airport waiting for her flight, a certain Natalie Horvath is called to the information desk. Overcome by inexplicable impulses, Claire heads to the information desk, where she is picked up by a chauffeur (Donald Hodson). He takes her to the estate of Marius Balakin, where she is assured that everything is “exactly the same as it was then”. Claire is overcome by memories of someone else’s past – quickly losing the sense of her own identity as she starts to take on that of the mysterious Natalie.
Claire begins to assume the personality of the mysterious Natalie
Poor Jason is distraught and worried when Claire doesn’t recognize him and insists her name is Natalie. It turns out there are dark forces at work, and once Jason learns the truth about the people behind the ballet school and who Natalie Horvath really was, he must fight a desperate battle to save his beloved Claire…
The theme of a young woman going to study at a creepy ballet school abroad recalls Dario Argento’s horror classic Suspiria (1977) but other than this plot point, Etoile couldn’t possibly be more different from Argento’s film. In spite of clear horror film elements such as the eerie musical score, the presence of dark, evil forces and the plot point of Claire inexplicably assuming the identity of a woman from the past, Etoile never truly feels like a horror film. But it doesn’t feel like a real drama either. It’s as if the film doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, and it feels both vague and unfocused – not to mention overlong at 100 minutes.
Only occasionally does the film feel like a horror movie
However, the film’s chief flaw is the romance between Claire and Jason, which isn’t credible for one single second. This is mainly due to Gary McCleery, who has neither the looks nor the charisma to be a believable love interest for the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly. Though clearly meant to be sympathetic and geekily charming, the Jason character instead comes across as awkward and slightly creepy right from the introduction scene where Claire drops her ballet shoe – Cinderella style – and Jason picks it up. He returns the shoe to Claire and starts bombarding her with questions: “Are you an American too?”, “Are you a dancer?”, “Are you here to dance?” etc. Claire is clearly in a hurry and wants to leave but he just keeps the questions coming while staring at her in a rather creepy way. And so it continues – with Jason’s infatuation for Claire seeming more like an unhealthy obsession. Played far too intense by McCleery, Jason comes across like classic stalker material, and it defies all possible logic that Claire should end up falling for someone like him. It is very unfortunate that the romance between Jason and Claire fails at both convincing and engaging the viewer because the film relies heavily on their relationship as the main narrative driving force – with Jason’s battle to rescue his beloved taking up much of the running time.
Jason looks and behaves seriously creepy throughout the film
One of the all-time least credible cinematic romances
It is unfortunate that Etoile fails to come together because it does have a few things going for it. Firstly, Jennifer Connelly delivers a very solid performance – coming across as charmingly sweet and angelic in the role of Claire, and later making the switch to darkly seductive as Claire is overtaken by the spirit Natalie.
Jennifer Connelly as the sweet and innocent Claire...
...and as the dark, seductive Natalie
The film also benefits from a quietly effective orchestral score, as well as stunning picturesque locations and lush art direction. It’s definitely a stylish and atmospheric work but in spite of its appealing visuals Etoile is little more than a good-looking package with nothing inside. It is an empty film that is sorely lacking in both substance and drive.
The film undeniably looks gorgeous
The cast is quite small and the focus is so firmly on Connelly and McCleery’s characters that none of the supporting actors are given much chance to shine. Nevertheless, French actor Laurent Terzieff manages to be effectively sinister as the mysterious ballet school director. The presence of Hollywood character actor Charles Durning as Jason’s eccentric uncle is quite a surprise but, unfortunately, Durning’s acting is way over the top and he is sorely in lack of a director who is able to rein him in. His out of the blue meltdown in a phone booth is nothing short of embarrassing but that doesn’t prevent it from being the most enjoyable moment in the film.
Charles Durning’s phone booth meltdown is one of those moments that you just have to see to believe
While undeniably stylish-looking, this dark fairytale is frustratingly vague and uninspired. It feels empty and the story fails to really engage but what well and truly kills the film is the unbelievably annoying Jason character – a problem which is greatly amplified by Gary McCleery’s terrible performance in the role. That said, Etoile is definitely the most obscure film on Jennifer Connelly’s resume and she does deliver a solid performance, so for dedicated Connelly fans it might be worth tracking down. Everyone else can skip it, though.
While undeniably stylish-looking, this dark fairytale is frustratingly vague and uninspired. It feels empty and the story fails to really engage but what well and truly kills the film is the unbelievably annoying Jason character – a problem which is greatly amplified by Gary McCleery’s terrible performance in the role. That said, Etoile is definitely the most obscure film on Jennifer Connelly’s resume and she does deliver a solid performance, so for dedicated Connelly fans it might be worth tracking down. Everyone else can skip it, though.
© 2012 Johan Melle
The cast:
Jennifer Connelly as Claire Hamilton
Gary McCleery as Jason Forrest
Laurent Terzieff as Marius Balakin
Charles Durning as Uncle Joshua
Donald Hodson as Balakin’s chauffeur
Olimpia Carlisi as Ballet madam
4 kommentarer:
What initially attracted me to Etoile were the perceived similarities to Argento, but as you pointed out, despite being a dark fairytale, it is very different than Suspiria and Phenomena. I agree that the romance between Connelly and McCleery was dull, and the movie is too long. There’s still a certain appeal that Connelly brings to the ‘80s fairytale that is present here, and not knowing much about ballet, I still enjoyed some of the choreography used during some of the stage performances. You’re right to say that Connelly is seductive here as Natalie, one only needs to look at the image you used of her staring into McCleery’s eyes with her arms around his shoulders, to be convinced; it gets me weak in the knees just looking at it.
Yes, absolutely! I, too, think that Connelly did a great job and the ballet stuff in the climax is very well done. On the whole I would say that there are several appealing elements in this film but they never manage to come together in a satisfying way. A bit of a lost opportunity.
I would consider this a fantasy film rather than a horror film.
I used to find this film boring and dull but now I've come to love it. I really like the cinematography, it's actually quite immersive and breathtaking. The actors who played the ghosts were quite good (esp. Laurent Terzieff and Olimpia Carlisi) but damn was McCleery bad! The way his voice drones when he narrates something got on my nerves. I agree that his lack of charisma is the film's main flaw.
I think one of Etoile's most intriguing themes is the theme of time. There's a constant reference to it with the clocks and you get the feeling that time has stopped altogether. The soundtrack also makes references to the past and present in its track titles.
Overall, Etoile is a deeply flawed film but it does grow on you if you're a Connelly fan or just looking for a sequence of beautiful images.
Thanks for commenting. You raise some very valid and interesting points. I agree that ETOILE is really more of a fantasy film, although it does have a few elements of horror as well.
Interesting point about how the theme of time is used in the film. I didn't give this too much thought when I looked at it but one does indeed get the feeling that time has stopped completely, and this is handled very well. It's certainly a beautiful film to look at too, and the climatic ballet scenes are wonderful. I'd say that overall ETOILE has all the ingredients for a good film but it's never able to really come together - at least not for me. McCleery is definitely the main problem. With a better male lead I'd probably have been more willing to overlook the rest of the film's flaws.
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