The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 15, 2003, Page 8, Image 8
Horizon
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
l
to present yet another dynamic.
“Go,” however, replicates the air
and charisma of the last album.
Only 45 minutes in length, “Go”
offers listeners 11 tracks that range
from aesthetically pleasing hit sin
gles to songs with a somewhat
abrasive electric undertone. The
mixture can be fairly shocking to
the casual listener who is expect
ing a CD with a uniform style.
Musically, the band’s strongest as
set is its ability to incorporate
beautifully harmonic vocals into
guitar-based music. Speaking of
love and life, the lyrics discuss flow
eternal love seems perpetually too
far away to achieve.
This album might produce
more than one Top 40 hit, but in
reality, its success is due to its
replication of “Everything You
Want.” Overall, the songs on “Go”
amount to a collection of radio
ready rock melodies seeking to be
Billboard hits. Even though lis
teners can relate to the lyrics and
potent delivery, the band could
have evidenced more growth by
occasionally straying away from
its usual guitar lines and strong
syncopated beats.
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Mayer
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
more” and his willingness to
make a legacy for himself.
Another song that shows a
glimpse into the songwriter’s
world is “Home Life.” The song
expresses Mayer’s desire for a
quiet, simple life and his theory
on marriage — “I will marry just
once/ And if it doesn’t work out/
Give her half of my stufF/ It’s fine
with me.”
The next song on the album
may be familiar to many of
Mayer’s fans. “Something’s
Missing” isn’t a new song for the
singer, who has been playing it for
some time.
A standout on the album is
“Come Back To Bed,” which
Mayer has described as “self-in
dulgent.” Featuring a saxophone,
the song is one of the most di
verse on the entire album.
On the romantic side, “Only
Heart” is an upbeat song in
which Mayer tries to convince
his love of his commitment. “If
you think my up and leaving’s
something I’m gonna do/ Feel my
’ chest when I look at you.”
The album finishes with
“Wheel,” which is an ingenious
look at the continuous circle of
love. The song explains, “Where
someone’s last goodbye/ Blends
in with someone’s sigh/ Cause
someone’s coming home/ In hand
a single rose.”
Sales will most likely surpass
those of Mayer’s first two albums
and rightly so. “Heavier Things”
is a more complex and more chal
lenging album, and Mayer exe
cutes it flawlessly.
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‘Searching for Paradise ’ aims
for artistic integrity\ beauty
“SEARCHING FOR PARADISE”
Myra Paci
★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
BY MAXAMILLIAN KING
THE GAMECOCK
There are some filmmakers
who view cinema as the chance
to make fantasies into realities
for the sole purpose of entertain
ment. There are others who look
at film as a forum for conveying
enlightenment or wisdom. And
then there are a select few who
see film as painters or sculptors
sees their trade — as an art, as the
chance to make, something
beautiful.
Myra Paci is such a filmmaker,
and her latest piece of work,
“Searching for Paradise,” is a per
fect example of the artistic style
that is her own. The movie is a
part of the Southern Circuit tour
of independent films, and was pre
sented at the Nickelodeon
Theatre.
After viewing it, the only im
mediate summary that offers itself
is that the film is far from enter
taining, yet easily wonderful and
appreciable.
The story is of a young girl
named Gilda Mattei (Susan May
Pratt), who has a love for her fa
ther, an interest in filming and an
obsession with an Italian actor.
The actor is Michael De Santis
(Chris Noth), and after indulging
in a crush for so long, Gilda be
gins to think that she is deeply in
love with him from afar. As life
goes on, her father passes away,
and she moves to New York with
her grandparents where she
learns that De Santis will be in
Virginia during the filming of his
latest movie. She then makes up
her mind to meet her love face to
face, by hook or by crook. It
would be unfair to say what hap
pens when they do meet—the cli
max remains something that
should be savored by the individ
ual viewer.
The performances of the indi
vidual actors deserve applause.
Chris Noth essentially plays him
self: a professional actor with all
his insecurities and eccentricities.
He, in fact, improvises much of his
character’s demeanor.
Susan May Pratt delivers a
rather disturbingly realistic por
trayal of a young urbanite girl cop
ing with a number of personal
problems that descend upon her in
just a few months. The perfor
mance Pratt offers is so inexorably
real that you might think you
know the person yourself. The re
mainder of the cast does not get
much screen-time, but that does
not detract from the quality of their
individual efforts.
Marie Louise Wilson offers a
necessary, modest comic-relief in
this intense and heavy drama as
Gilda’s grandmother. Michele
Placido plays Giorgio Mattei, the
deceased father of Gilda. He’s an
older Italian man of strong will and
a love for his native land and cul
ture. The entire cast fits into their
roles excellently. Casting was han
dled by Karen Meisels.
Paci, as writer and director of
this movie, described that she had
several arguments with herself as
these jobs clashed. However, the
film leads one to believe that she
evidently came to terms with her
self regarding the dialogue and the
direction.
The movie has a unique and
eccentric artistic style. Much of
the movie is shot from the point
of view of a portable digital cam
era that Gilda always carries
with her, as a sort of video jour
nal.
There are also more than a few
blurred transitional montages,
as if filmed through a much low
er quality camera. Paci de
scribed these as a small touch of
her own flare. Admittedly, while
they do reflect the tone of the film
and fit nicely in their places, they
are a bit of a workout for the
eyes. The artistic style is highly
appreciable, and even more cap
tivating.
Equally, the dialogue is ex
pertly written. There are a num
ber of intensely emotional scenes
where profanity rears its ugly
head without much meaning, but
Paci described this as a reflection
of the emotional state of the char
acters.
“Searching for Paradise” is an
intense drama about disillusion
ment and disappointment. It is not
the sort of movie one would go see
for the sake of being entertained.
In its purest form, this movie
makes one think and feel. It is
something of an acquired taste. In
the respect of tone and theme, it is
almost reminiscent of an Italian
opera, which can be an acquired
taste in its own right.
ii uiic gues lu see uiia <xo ci wui
of art instead of a source of enter
tainment, one is likely to have a
great time. As such, the movie
was indeed worthy of the healthy
applause it received from the au
dience at the Nickelodeon
Theatre.
It would be unfairly superficial
to judge the other independent
films of the Southern Circuit’s
28th season from this sample
alone, but if indeed this film is a
reflection of the Circuit’s stan
dards, we have much to look for
ward to in progress of the film
tour.
Future films, include Cory
McAbee’s “The American
Cowboy”; Sarah George’s
“Casting Out”; Brady Lewis’s
“Daddy Cool”; David Simpson’s
“Refrigerator Mothers,” and Amy
Sommer’s “Waco: the Rules of
Engagement.” More information
about the Southern Circuit can be
found on their Web site at
www.state.sc.us/arts/circuit/.
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PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT
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Senator John Edwards
as he returns to South Carolina on the day
of his official Presidential Announcement.
Tuesday
September 16
4 PM
Outside Russell House
Free Refreshments
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