Ask The Dust Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
L.A. in the early 1930's: racism, poverty, and disease color the Bunker Hill neighborhood where Arturo Bandini, a lover of men and beasts alike, has arrived from Colorado to write the great Los Angeles novel. After six months and down to his last nickel, he orders a cup of coffee, served by Camilla Lopez, beautiful, self-possessed, and Mexican. Arturo gets advice, encouragement, and an occasional check from H.L. Mencken, so he keeps writing and he keeps seeing Camilla. But, he's mean to her for no apparent reason, so the relationship sputters. A housekeeper from back East suggests a way out of his jealously and fears. "Camilla Bandini": is it in the cards?
| Colin Farrell | Arturo Bandini |
| Salma Hayek | Camilla |
| Donald Sutherland | Hellfrick |
| Eileen Atkins | Mrs. Hargraves |
| Idina Menzel | Vera Rivkin |
| Justin Kirk | Sammy |
| Jeremy Crutchley | Solomon |
| Ronald France | Columbia Sweeper |
| Dion Basco | Filipino Houseboy |
| Donna Mosley | Red Headed Girl |
| Paul Rylander | Harold the Bartender |
| Natasha Staples | Denver Librarian |
| Wayne Harrison | Heilman |
| Yoshimura Yasuhiro | Japanese Vegetable Man |
| Sid | Willie the Dog |
| Robert Towne |
5.80 out of 10 (1734 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Frustrating
posted on 15 Jul 2009I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Towne give a talk in Toronto, in which he mused on his long and (mostly) illustrious career. From Chinatown to Personal Best to The Firm, he spouted off anecdotes and insights into Hollywood and the screen writing process in general.Then the audience was treated to a special preview screening of "Ask the Dust." It would seem that this has been a labour of love for Mr. Towne; one that has been several decades in the making. So in that sense, perhaps this film doesn't merit harsh criticism. The fact that Towne got it made is to be commended.It's not a bad film, by any right. It boasts two decent performances from its leads Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell, lush cinematography, meticulous period detail and a sumptuous score. All the elements of a great film are there. However, nothing really gels.My guess is that the source material is the film's ultimate downfall. It's dated, and contradictory. What begins as a pulpy potboiler in the vein of "The Postman Rings Twice" becomes a politically correct tirade against intolerance. Oh, and there's a healthy dose of "La Boheme" thrown in there for good measure.The first half of the film is intriguing as the characters' motivations are enigmatic and unpredictable. Hayek comes across as a latina femme fatale, while Farrell plays the flawed noirish anti-hero. L.A. itself is a character - one of a city at odds with its surroundings. The description of the sand (or dust) from the desert filling the air is particularly poignant.Halfway through, the film takes a perplexing turn. Turns out there is no mystery behind the motives of the leads. They just wanted to be loved/understood. Cue Hollywood clichés, and end scene. You can't help but be disappointed.Perhaps in the hands of a '70s auteur director like Polanski, Antonioni or Bob Rafelson, the source material could have been tweaked or restructured to yield a more surprising and challenging film. I even wondered what the film would have been like with a 70s screen icon like Jack Nicholson or Al Pacino in the lead role.
Interesting, but missing something...
posted on 09 Jul 2009I'll start by admitting that I haven't read the John Fante novel that inspired this film. I have it on good authority that the movie has a more feel-good, "Hollywood" ending than the book, but aside from that factoid I know little of the original work.I do know that Fante wrote autobiographically, though, and that Colin Farrell's character in this movie - Arturo Bandidi - is basically him. And, to be honest, I avoided watching "Ask the Dust" for a while because I hate it when writers write about themselves. Generally speaking, I'm more interested in stories than the process of creating them. Watching some struggling author hunched over a typewriter, puffing a cigarette and trying to wash away writers' block with booze, is not my idea of fun.The makers of "Ask the Dust" probably realized that the writing process is un-cinematic, and so focused more on Bandidi's romance with a waitress, Camilla (Salma Hayek, always easy on the eyes). However, love stories have their tedious points, too. This one is based largely on the characters' sexual tension - with an emphasis on the tension part - and their shared status as outsiders in a world dominated by white Protestants. But Camilla and Bandini are so consistently nasty to each other that, after a while, I stopped rooting for them to get together. Two people with such a strained dynamic probably shouldn't be together, no? So, neither part quite works for me - not the love story, or the writing story. Is it just me, or does Bandini actually seem like kind of a hack? He's just like his creator, John Fante, except that he's got about half the evident talent. Why dumb him down like that? I'm probably griping too much, because the movie's got interesting points. The performances are uniformly good, and the recreation of period Los Angeles is beautiful (though, truth be told, that city holds no particular fascination for me). It's always great to see Donald Sutherland acting like a complete nut. But, in the final analysis, it all rings a bit hollow, and, with the exception of one or two nice scenes, lacks the sentiment to make its characters really sympathetic.
Mediocre, but enjoyable
posted on 25 Jun 2009A writer moves from one end of the US to the other side, settles down in the Los Angeles of the 1930s and wants to write a book. A big successful book that will make him filthy rich. Out there he runs into a Mexican woman. A woman that is searching for a white man to marry so that she can get out of her prison. The rest is easily predictable, history has shown the story a great many times after all.Farrell isn't half bad as the writer, and Hayek isn't bad as the female either. The two of them get together in a way that isn't completely impossible, but it doesn't completely add up either. The match is imperfect, but I guess that more or less depicts how they are together in the first place.The scenery of the film is depicted pretty nicely - the whole film feels like it comes out of the age it is trying to show to the watcher and that helps pretty much. Can't say I was very impressed with it, but it wasn't half bad either - nice stuff to see on the average bored evening.6 out of 10 writers in search of a story.
well done
posted on 26 May 2009Ask the Dust is about immature loves hesitation to commit. Farrell plays an aspiring Italian writer who goes to 1930s LA from Colorado to find inspiration. He finds that inspiration in LA and in Hayek the Mexican bar maid. Some career breaks just in the nick of time saves him from fading into oblivion. Farrell and Hayek hook up several times, but fail to follow through on their love out of fear of societies reprisals. Both are trying to be WASPs at a time when neither one quite fits the bill. I recommend this movie for a chick flic night or if you really like Farrell or Hayek. The film is very well made and the characters draw you into the story quickly. Some pacing may tempt you to switch it off, but it is worth the slow spots.
Ask the dust is a must-see
posted on 26 May 2009Ask the dust is a love story about a writer, Atruro, who falls in love with a Mexican waitress, Camilla, during the 1930's. Arturo lives in Los Angeles in a rundown motel. Across the hall is the drunken neighbor played by Donald Sutherland who does an excellent job of acting.In the beginning, Camilla rejects Atruro but after many rejections, falls in love with him and he teaches her how to read while she steals his heart.The passion between Atruro and Camillia is so hot and the love scenes are fantastic. Especially a flashback scene that takes place in the ocean.After this movie, watch the milk you put in your coffee.
Neither comedy, mystery nor drama - we walked out
posted on 30 Apr 2009"Ask the Dust" looked intriguing from the trailer, and we especially like all of the actors. Unfortunately, the movie was not compelling enough to be considered drama, and it wasn't funny enough to be a comedy. It practically seemed to satirize itself, and to no entertaining effect. After seventy minutes of waiting for this thing to get better, my wife and I walked out, valuing not having wasted any more time on such nonsense. It simply was not interesting, moving, funny nor artistic. It appears as though it were written, produced and directed by a high school kid; worse yet, it was such a shameful waste of otherwise extraordinarily talented actors, not to mention our time and money.
really bad adaptation of the book
posted on 12 Apr 2009A friend told me of John Fante last summer after we got into a conversation about Charles Bukowski. I did not know that Fante was a favorite writer of Bukowski's - an author with similar edge and humor except from one generation earlier. 'Ask the Dust' was the first Fante book I read, and it remains one of my favorite novels. The novel was a brilliant piece of writing about a sad, frightened young writer posing to himself and the outside world as an overconfident, masterfully talented author who had no idea how to write about the real world experiences he had none of. In the novel the protagonist is a virgin, with no idea how to win the graces of the women he desperately wants to write about in magazines. The story of his bizarre relationship with Camilla, how he settles for his first sexual experience with a 'wounded' admirer, and how he eventually is left with nothing but the story of his failed attempts at love is biting and real, with no touching Hollywood ending. The film adaptation stays true to the book for a while, but meanders into the cinematic trap of love persevering through racism, sickness and death. The heart of this story lies in the fact that Bandini is a jerk and Camilla is f-ing crazy, and their love never was and never would be the real thing, no matter how much either of them wanted to find it in each other. This movie tore out the real meaning of the story out and replaced it with schlock. I can't believe the man who wrote Chinatown could read this book and make a movie about it that got it so wrong.
It's Very Dusty
posted on 08 Apr 2009The film starts off with a very melancholy flavor and a unique opening sequence reminiscent of "Far from Heaven" but the entire beginning of the film along with the narration feels like a radio cop show that should have been kept on the radio. Robert Towne, the acclaimed director of the classic, "Chinatown" brings us into the story of Arturo Bandini, an American writer who moves to write a beloved tale of love. The film has a lot of trouble picking up and keeping the story moving. The pace is utterly off and ill-mannered in giving us a tale of what? I have no idea, but there's some people talking and some entrances and exits unknown to the viewer. The story itself while sounds like a little rip off "Moulin Rouge" is its own strange tale that fails to engulf the characters with modesty and honesty. The director also forgets to invite the audience into the story and illustrate a picture that we can admire. We're lost somewhere between the land of reality and the beautiful world of motion pictures.Colin Farrell plays the strange Arturo, the Italian-American writer who has a gift of language but is unintelligent in choice and callous in words. Arturo becomes smitten by the beautiful but uncanny Camilla played somewhat skillfully by Salma Hayek. Camilla is a Mexican-immigrant who waitresses at a local restaurant and is in plans to become a citizen. The depth of these two characters is underdeveloped and coy, coy in the manner of allowing these two intimates to give some naked truth to their own lives and underdeveloped in letting them become the person rather than the outline. Farrell has been showing some promise the past few years and we've been waiting to see something special from him but the poor storyline doesn't allow him to stretch his legs and walk. He stands inside his Arturo and is insipid, bland and bored. Actors often enjoy their characters but Farrell takes it on as a gig rather than an adventure. His body language and delivery of lines is quite cumbersome and awkward. Hayek on the other hand does breathe some life into her Camilla but the direction of the film is astray and bewildered. Towne didn't know if he wanted to create a love story or insult the notion of it. Camilla's outbursts at Arturo gives us the necessary emotions needed to be acquainted with her but no real representation of her internal persona or sincere passion. Hayek is extremely sexy and beautiful but in that lies the performance, nothing "meaty" or spectacular just Frida minus unibrow, lesbians and paintings.Idina Menzel receives best in show honors for her stunning and haunting portrayal of Vera, the drunken mystery woman who finds her woes and sorrows in the eyes of Arturo. She inhabits Vera and gains the sympathy considered necessary for us to care and mourn for Vera. Despite her peculiar entrance she does keep herself locked into the focal point of Vera and stays. Menzel alone is the redeeming quality of the film and keeps it from outright failing.In recent memory I cannot remember a love story that I just did not care about. Arturo and Camilla are just sketches, a muse of human beings in the world of fiction that never needed to be shared. The ending result is satisfying but plain resolution and unwanted reminiscing of parts of the film they should of cut. Consideration should focus on the beautiful cinematography but in terms of a Hayek nomination we can just wait for other contenders to roll down and take up the spaces. "Ask the Dust" is worth a watch and some people can find their love in it but I had no desire to ask anybody about the film, not even the dust.Grade: **1/2/****
"not even colin farrell's ass could save it"
posted on 29 Mar 2009A film starring Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell, two respected and talented actors, sounds like a great idea. An independent film sounds even better. The studios will control less of the content allowing the actors and writers and director more creativity.But then why is this movie so bland? Ask the dust.This film assumes right off the bat that we are deeply invested in the characters. No one is given a proper back story, so we don't ever know why the characters act the way they do.Explanations for physical and emotional scars are left to our imagination, if you still have one left at the end of this movie.I told a friend that I went to see this film, and that I thought it was awful.Her question: "Not even Colin Farrell could save it?" My response: "Not even Colin Farrell's ass could save it."
I loved it!
posted on 05 Mar 2009I couldn't understand why many critics attacked this movie, I thought it was so gripping and heartbreaking.Idina Menzel, Colin Farrell and mainly Salma Hayek give so strong and convincing performances that the minor flaws in the film can be overlooked. The cinematography, so talked on the reviews is indeed beautiful and also are the art direction and costumes.The beach scene is so intense and sexy that I'm sure it will become in of those scenes people talk for years.Arturo Bandini never looked more handsome with Colin Farrell playing it with restrain and wit. He may be the cause why some people are bashing the film but he shows how much of a great actor he is.Salma Hayek brings a touching performance, one so powerful that sticks with you when the film is over.Donald Sutherland, Justin Kirk and Eileen Atkins get little to do but they do it as best as they can. Idina Menzel is the supporting cast member that stands out.The movie belongs to Los Angeles, is a great homage to the city and its culture and history.
So-so remake
posted on 07 Feb 2009ASK THE DUST is an unneeded update of Alexander Dumas's CAMILLE (aka OUR LADY OF THE CAMILLAS), crossed with Nathaniel West's DAY OF THE LOCUST. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, a struggling young writer named Arturo Badini (Colin Farrell) arrives in Las Angeles with some money in his pocket and stars in his eyes. He hopes to meet a blonde beauty who will inspire him to write great truths. Instead, he crosses paths with a Mexican waitress, a sharp-tongued, dark-eyed beauty named Camilla (Salma Hayek) and has a brief fling with a raven-tressed Jewish housekeeper named Vera Rivkin (Idina Menzel). No blondes for this boy, a dark-complected Italian who has fled his home state of Colorado to escape racial taunting at a time when Italians were as despised as Mexicans and Jews. The racial tone of the period is wonderfully handled but the rest of the movie isn't nearly as interesting. If you know the plot of CAMILLE, retold in Verdi's masterpiece, LA TRAVIATA, you'll know what ultimately transpires. ASK THE DUST is an old-fashioned romantic melodrama that loses its way somewhere in the second half, and would have done better to get to its inevitable conclusion a half-hour sooner. Farrell and Hayek, both in full-blown fiery ethnic mode, cannot be faulted for Robert Towne's scripting and directorial problems. A sense of doom and gloom, and impermanence, pervades DUST's proceedings, and faint overtones of Towne's classic tragedy CHINATOWN can also be felt. Apparently, Towne thought of making this story into a movie going way back. Trivia bar bet: Donald Sutherland appears in both the similar DAY OF THE LOCUST and this film. Watch DAY OF THE LOCUST instead.
Not so great as it looks at first
posted on 03 Feb 2009I thought ''Ask the Dust'' would be a nice movie,but I need to say that it doesn't have anything special, it is an ordinary romantic movie with some drama during the Great Depression in the 30's. Some things are so obvious, like when you see the character Camilla Lopez coughing and blood splits out, you know she is going to die, eventually. (By the way, it remembered me the scene where Satine, from Moulin Rouge, is sick of tuberculosis and coughing a lot, splitting blood in a hankie like Camilla) PS1:I am surprised to see Tom Cruise is one of the producers of this movie.PS2: No, I didn't read the book. But the theme is interesting. This thing about being from other country and trying to settle down in other place interests me a lot. And I think it so beautiful that both Camilla, who wanted a Caucasian American to marry and share his name, and Arturo, who also wanted a blonde American to marry, fall in love, showing that in the end, those things doesn't matter at all.
A very successful attempt to destroy a great story!
posted on 22 Jan 2009This film is based on the novel by John Fante. Could someone please tell me why? I see absolutely no reason why this fine book should be adapted in this way. If you want to make a romantic melodramatic Hollywood production with Colin Farell and Selma Hayek, then how could you possibly make a connection to Ask The Dust (the novel)? -And if you wanted to make this story into a film, then why would you want to make it into a romantic melodramatic Hollywood production with Colin Farell and Selma Hayek? I don't get it.The adaptation of the story is poorly made, and if you have read the book and liked it, I'm almost sure you won't like what Towne did with it. In the beginning of the film you'll maybe find the casting odd, the acting bad and the cinematography just a bit overdone. But you hope for the best. I really hoped a lot during this film. I actually wanted it to be good. But it only gets worse, and it is as simple as that: Whether you read Fantes novel or not, this is not a good film. Just another romantic melodramatic Hollywood production combined with bad acting, lack of structure and - of course - plenty of shots of Colin Farells naked butt.I could complain a lot more about this film, but why waste my time. I've seen it. Alright. I had to see it, because I like the book so much and was curious. And I'm very disappointed.1/10 is for Colin's sweet little mustache in the end of the film. So sweet... Had he worn it the whole time through, I'd given it 2/10.
Perfectly Fine Glossy Hollywood Melodrama
posted on 10 Jan 2009I don't think a lot of people really understand what they're seeing here. Never mind the source material; this is a glossy Hollywood melodrama in the vein of SOME CAME RUNNING. In fact, that's a good comparison, for that movie also dealt with the Artist Coming Into His Own and evolving into a more empathetic human being through a disastrous love story.I liked this very much, but understand that it is what it is. If you don't like melodramatic tropes you won't like this, as the movie adheres to a lot of them: SPOILERS The Beautiful Now Dying Woman, The Bucolic Interlude, The Deathbed Confession of Love, etc. More generally, this is a world of heightened Romanticisim, where everyone's emotions are close to the surface and people suffer and abase themselves terribly for love. I really like that kind of storytelling, but if you don't, you won't like this.Hayek is fine and lovely; Farrell, not one of my favorites, is not awful. The look of the city is absolutely tremendous. Although not a lot happens the movie went fast for me.Generally underrated. Do understand what you're getting into, though.
Moderately enjoyable
posted on 04 Jan 2009Ask the Dust is an entirely unremarkable film. But while there may be nothing spectacular about it in the end it is a reasonably entertaining film. Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but there are much worse ways to spend two hours.The film is set in Depression era Los Angeles and the attention to period detail is exceptional, 1930s L.A. brought brilliantly to life. Colin Farrell plays writer Arturo Bandini who is struggling to find inspiration that will allow him to sell some stories for some desperately needed cash. He also struggles with the prejudice he faces due to his Italian heritage. But while Italians may be looked down upon in this time and place they certainly have it better than the Mexicans. Enter Salma Hayek, playing Camilla, a waitress whose goal is to improve her standing in life by marrying a wealthy white man. But maybe just any white man will do if it allows her to become a citizen. Anyhow, Arturo and Camilla meet and although they seem to be an obvious mismatch they inevitably fall for one another. And so off we go, following this relationship which at first is rather awkward but as it evolves...well, actually it's still pretty awkward. Having to deal with prejudices, both those of outsiders and their own, was always going to make this relationship a difficult one. But the pair make it work. More or less. As you watch the two live out their cycle of coming together and drifting apart and coming together again you get the sense the film is at times just standing in place and not really moving forward. The story does drag at times but in the end it works. Barely works perhaps but it does work.Probably the best thing the movie has to offer is its stunning cinematography and period detail. But nice visuals are never enough in a film, you need the story to go with it. And the story here is passable, which is about the best that can be said for it. It never really grabs you but the movie does just enough to hold your interest. Farrell and Hayek are fine in their roles, with Hayek certainly having the Mexican spitfire role down pat by now. Donald Sutherland and Idina Menzel portray a couple of rather unique characters and do a good job with them but those roles are little more than extended cameos. For the most part this film is left to Farrell and Hayek to carry. And they do the best they can with a story which, while certainly not riveting, is interesting. In the end Ask the Dust is a reasonably decent way to spend two hours. You've seen a lot better. You've also seen a lot worse.
rare regional romance
posted on 17 Dec 2008Based on other comments I expected a film noir, but there seems to be some general confusion between era and genre. Just because something is set in the 30s LA with lots of voice-over doesn't make it noir.There's no noir-ish betrayal here unless one counts racism once again disrupting the American Dream. Too often movies depict the discord in Black & White relations, when in SoCal there's a long history of Euro-Americans measuring the blood of Mestizos and using it to divide & conquer them. Camilla strikes me as a more interesting character than the flat depiction of the Latina housekeeper in Crash who seems to have no life other than waiting for Sandra Bullock's character to become enlightened.The main problem with Ask the Dust is that most people will not allow themselves to recognize California's racism. Granted, Ask the Dust does little to address corruption of Latin America. The racism associated with the current border crisis is historical. Ask the Dust isn't so much an epic romance as it is a personal romance that hits close to home for inter-racial families (epic romances tend to let characters off the hook by sweeping them away in historical movements; here we have only Arturo & Camilla). To be sure, the poetry of the wave-riding scene could have been mis-directed toward some statement about historical movements, but Towne keeps the story centered on the characters. Are there other great moments? Well, I'll never look at Joan Blondell the same way. The excerpt of her dialog about the benefits of being "white" was devastating. Great lines throughout. Donald Sutherland's "Keep going or otherwise you'll die in Los Angeles like the rest of us" arced strongly from Arturo's writing to his evolution as an empathetic human being. Perhaps the film is too much about the writing life, but Camilla's line "Save your imagination for your work. Don't waste it on me when you don't have to" was simultaneously erotic and humane, something the overwhelming majority of contemporary films have trouble with. It's at that erotic moment she helps him face the duality of his racism and write more honestly than he had before.Why do men dislike this movie so much more than women do? Maybe we're a Man Show nation that was sorry the story wasn't more about the Sammy White character (how about that for an ironic name?). All I can say is thank you Mr. Farrell for recently giving us two challenging movies about what it really means to be an American (Ask the Dust & New World).
Dusting off great LA memoirs!
posted on 03 Nov 2008John Fante wrote a great book called ask the dust and Hollywood Screenwriter Robert Towne managed to make an efficient translation of The eclectic novel into the big screen.Relying on the powerful performances of his cast, the film depends mostly on the background of Los Angeles as the magnificent city of Dreams and ambition where lonely souls collide day after day.I particularly loved the way racism is portrayed on the film, not in The melodramatic way of last year's crash but as disease.Salma Hayek is terrific as the smoldering Camilla Lopez, a temptress Decided to rise above her status by marrying a blond American. Colin Farrell is subtle and sincere as the complex Arturo Bandini (one of his Best performances to date). Idina Menzel steals the show in her brief Scenes.Overall, the film loses when it goes far apart from the novel but the Final product is so exceptionally crafted that are willing to forgive The writer.
How could I have missed this?
posted on 30 Sep 2008I don't remember seeing a trailer, nor an advertisement on the side of the bus. Not even a peep about from my snobbish, former film major friends. Yet this is one of the best movies I've seen, in too many years to count.Ask the Dusk chronicles the journey of a young Italian–American writer, Arturo Bandini and his struggles to become a famous author. Arturo constant struggle of wanting to write but needing to live is portrayed by brilliantly depicted by Colin Farrell. It's not until the struggling writer meets a beautiful Mexican waitress Camilla {Salma Hayek} that he starts to live and truly have a chance to become a writer. Ask the Dust carefully touches on class-ism, racism, and perhaps the cruelest of subjects: love.The scenery is breath taking and the acting is outstanding. Anyone who questions Colin Farrell's acting ability should definitely see this movie. Even though the story may be predictable at times, it never loses my interest! It's sprinkled with a delightful supporting cast of richly layered characters, that at times still the show. Idina Menzel is delivers a haunting performance, as Vera the troubled stranger. This movie was in such limited theatrical release, I can only hope it can reach the audience it deserved via rentals.
Beautiful lighting, cinematography.
posted on 15 Aug 2008As voluntary Cinema Manager at Coalville's Century Theatre, I'm always on the lookout for films of artistic quality which are not necessarily multiplex successes. I must confess I did read a couple of newspaper reviews when this film was first released in the UK, - they weren't particularly favourable but they did highlight the Robert Towne/Chinatown connection, - but I forgot all about it until I visited Italy for a weekend holiday in July. As I was passing a cinema in Verona, I was attracted by a couple of very attractive stills...for Ask The Dust. I decided to find out a bit more about the film when I returned home. After doing this, I felt it would be deserving of a screening at our little venue and I booked the film as soon as it was made available to the non-theatrical circuit. I eventually showed the film last night and I believe this was the first public showing in Leicestershire. I fully endorse the comments of others before me, - the lighting, sets, period sense and cinematography are absolutely marvellous, - just literally lovely to look at. I thought Colin Farrell was fine in the central role and am at a loss why he's come in for criticism from some quarters for this performance. Salma Hayek also scores in her sniping early scenes with Farrell and portrays well her character's fears and insecurities at a time when being Mexican was so obviously looked down upon (a very neat selection by Towne for the film excerpt in the cinema scene). Pity our own Eileen Atkins had such a tiny role. Although certainly not a commercial film, it does feature some memorable scenes such as the Long Beach earthquake and the moonlight swim among the crashing waves. And I really liked the idyllic seaside period enjoyed by the two (eventual!) lovers...with the little dog. A good sharp ending in true old-fashioned Hollywood style with a nod towards Camille, which apparently is not in the book, so I've read. After the film finished, I wasn't sure how my audience would react but comments were generally very favourable...and the fairly overt but well-handled sex scene had caused no offence...in fact I did get a couple of middle aged ladies offering glowing expressions with their references to Mr Farrell's appearance in that scene. A very good, quality film, lovingly made by Robert Towne...but one couldn't help thinking with a little more sharpness early on, it could have been even better. It's a piece that will linger in the memory though, in my opinion, and you can't say that about the majority of the modern day films.
Let it accumulate dust
posted on 08 Aug 2009I don't like this film, but then I didn't think much of the book either which, although lauded by many as a "masterpiece", I found lacking in character development and disjointed and illogical in plot, although it was far more readable than Fante's dreadful first effort "Road to Los Angeles" not published until Fante became fashionable in the mid 80s.I was intrigued to see what sort of soup Towne would make with such meager ingredients. He has worked hard script-wise to repair the many shortcomings of the book but for my money didn't rescue it. There was never a movie in Ask the Dust while ever he tried to stay faithful to the book. I consider this film Towne's folly.In a word: forgettable.