Living in Oblivion (1995)

just watch it!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Tom DiCillo's (yeah, never heard of him either) thinly veiled attack on (1) Brad Pitt and (2) Indie film-making is a movie about making movies joining much better films such as "Barton Fink" and, to a lesser extent, "The Player" in this sub-sub-subgenre. It follows the always corpse-like Steve Buscemi as a director just trying to film two scenes in a seemingly awful low-budget independent production that has the distinction of snaring a megastar who is trying to build cred played by Brad Pitt look (sorta)-alike James LeGros. The Pitt character (the comically named Chad Palomino) is pure satire of the spoiled star who believes their least inventive whim is pure genius while the others are fleshed out to the extent that we get a look into their interior lives, anxieties and to some degree hopes. There are extended dream sequences, some attempts at "Spinal Tap"-esque humor (and the smoke machine went crazy!!!!) and a whole lotta characters tossing F-bombs at one another (shocking!!!). Everyone on the set has slept with a least one other person, Buscemi's addled mom shows up and the whole mess tries way too hard to be either funny or poignant or insider hip or something. If you ever wanted to see Buscemi try to carry a film or if like to feel hip by picking a movie that makes fun of movies themselves you might enjoy this -- I didn't. If you want a movie about movie-making, try "Hooper", the 1978 Burt Reynolds vehicle about stuntmen making movies. Believe it or not, there was a (really brief) time when Burt Reynolds was so bankable that studios would sign a blank check and let he, Hal Needham, Dom Deluise, Mary Lou Henner, sometimes Sally Fields and random celebrities like quarterback Terry Bradshaw or drunk (may he rest in peace) Dean Martin just go out and wing it in front of the camera. "Hooper" is a complete mess but actually entertaining as opposed to tightly directed and produced but only conceptually entertaining.

Having spent the better half of the last 7 years working on both sides of the camera, I can sympathize with filmmakers and actors. Most people have this mistaken notion that "All you have to do is push a button and act a little here and there." But that is not the case at all. Whenever the camera is rolling and the director calls "ACTION", practically anything could happen... and often does! What's so great about LIVING IN OBLIVION is that Tom DiCillo turns the camera around and shows us what really happens behind the scenes. And nothing is spared. We get to see the odd mix of nerves, ennui, exhaustion, desperation, disappointments, and surprises, deftly handled with a comedic touch. Steve Buscemi (who is no stranger to directing) gives his best performance as Nick Reve, the quirky director who tries to keep everything from falling apart. And if ever a struggling filmmaker needed some inspiration, this movie would grant it! For anyone thinking of making a movie, I'd highly recommend watching this movie and "American Movie" on a double bill!

This movie is definitely one of my all-time favorites. I've enjoyed watching this movie over and over. This is Steve Buscemi at his finest. I've learned to love the other actors, too. You either get this movie or you don't. It's different and that's what makes it work. I love independent movies like this that don't follow the Hollywood formula.Basically, the movie was originally made as a short, but was too long. So, they added two more "scenes" making it into a full-length film. Seeing how the characters interact in the various takes was great. A film about making a film. And, it worked! Highly recommended for its unique indie flavor. More please!

This is "The Actor's Nightmare" for the film industry. The entire ensemble cast is perfect, both "names" and unknowns.If you've ever been involved in making a film (even as a student), your heart will ache for them even as you laugh out loud -- and quite probably even if you have no personal experience with film-making you'll have new insights on why making something where the finished product runs a relatively short time can take forever to capture.I initially thought "Chad Palomino" HAD to be a sendup of Brad Pitt -- and while listening to the director's commentary I nearly choked hearing him say Pitt was originally slated to play that role but ended up with a conflict (apparently finishing "Legends of the Fall") and had to back out.Steve Buscemi, already a favorite of mine from many indies, is a revelation in this film; he has a "leading man" quality, for lack of a better term, that I hadn't seen from him before (presumably because his "look" makes most directors loathe to cast him as anything but an odd duck), but he's still as interesting as in anything else I've seen him do.Spend some time with this film; you won't be disappointed!