Bartleby

Rating:
Summary: Dead Letter Office
Review: "Bartleby" is an odd film... strangely unsettling and sad and yet funny at once. The over-bright, almost out-of-place colors and eerie score combined with Crispin Glover's performance give the film an almost haunting quality. This is the kind of movie that really sticks with you. Personally I thought it was quite funny, but the humor is rather off-beat and might not appeal to everyone. The ending was phenomenal in my opinion but again might not strike the right cord for everyone. However I fully recommend this film for fans of the tragic and the surreal.

Rating:
Summary: i would prefer a little air
Review: Bartleby is a wonderful little film, ironic and provocative, very funny and yet incredibly sad, and an intelligent modernization of Melville's story. I'm fascinated by office culture, by work culture in general, because the economic system demands that to a great extent we define ourselves by our work, and insists we believe that our sense of worth derives from our work. There's a reason people like Scott Adams manage to strike such a chord with the very people they seem to be ridiculing, the people inside office culture. This movie is Melville's post-Industrial critique of capitalism filtered through Adams' post-Technological satire, and appropriately the film looks like a comic strip: notice the use of flat "off" colours, so that the film seems very bright but the colours are wrong: sickly greens and browns and weird reds. The colour also heightens the contrast with Bartleby; Crispin Glover's natural pallor has been enhanced, so that he seems to be rendered in black and white. The acting style, too, is not naturalistic: each character finds a note and plays it: the oversexed secretary, the alpha male, the sensitive guy. (Indeed my only quibble with this film is what seems less deliberate ambiguity than indecision over what to do with the peripheral characters, so that the point about how office culture generates them is not as well explored as it might be: the coda also seems a little hastily tacked on.) The closest we come to complexity is the boss (the splendid David Paymer); Bartleby is way beyond such issues in his realm of existential despair. Crispin Glover, who has never worked in an office, inhabits the title role with the scary perfection with which he inhabits any role he plays; there's a startling similarity between this and the recent, underrated Willard, except that Willard finds some sort of warped outlet for what emotions he has and Bartleby doesn't even find that (the most poignant scene in the film is the one in which the boss discovers Bartleby has been sleeping in the office, and finds the one old photograph of what is probably Bartleby's mother amongst his things). Both cling to their horrible existences because they can see nothing else and have been warped past the ability to contemplate change (one of the most telling moments in Willard is the one in which he pleads with Martin to let him keep his job). Watching this movie I was struck yet again that Crispin Glover is one of the great truly original actors of his generation. The dvd includes features on the making of the film, including the clever device of interviews with the ensemble cast who answer questions in character, with the notable exception of Crispin Glover, who answers as his inimitable self.

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly a masterpiece, or a classic, but...
Review: Bartleby is endearing in it's own quirky way. My favorite scenes were Maury Chaiken's fiasco with the copier ink and the water cooler, and the office performance of "Wax Man".
Unless you appreciate dark humor, indie film endeavors, and movies with subtitles, etc., you're probably best off passing on "Bartleby", and sticking with more mainstream fare

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly a masterpiece, or a classic, but...
Review: Bartleby is endearing in it's own quirky way. My favorite scenes were Maury Chaiken's fiasco with the copier ink and the water cooler, and the office performance of "Wax Man".
Unless you appreciate dark humor, indie film endeavors, and movies with subtitles, etc., you're probably best off passing on "Bartleby", and sticking with more mainstream fare

Rating:
Summary: "I would prefer not to"
Review: Based on one of Herman Melville's less popular works `Bartleby the Scrivener' (heck, Moby Dick was somewhat ill received at the time it came out, probably due to allegorical nature), Bartleby (2001) is a wonderfully honest and true to its' source film providing a fairly seamless update of a story written over 150 years ago.

Co-written and directed by Jonathan Parker (his first film), Bartleby stars the ever enigmatic (and kinda creepy) Crispin Glover (River's Edge) along with David Paymer (Payback), Glenne Headly (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Maury Chaykin (A Nero Wolf Mystery), Seymour Cassel (Tin Men), and Joe Piscopo...also appearing are Carrie Snodgrass (The Attic) and Dick Martin (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In).

The film takes place in the present day, set in a modest public records office. The boss (Paymer) has received news of more work coming their way, due to a lucrative government contract or such, and decides, in his prudent pragmatism, to hire on an extra person to help deal with the increased workload. In a completely hilarious bit of un-realism, he composes a want ad, one would expect to see for a position involving risks, adventure, and great rewards, not one befitting the unassuming and ultimately duller than dull tasks involved with working in a public records office i.e. filing, fact checking, ect. (in the original story, they were scriveners, or, basically, human copy machines). What makes it so hilarious is not only the wording of the ad, but the notion that Paymer's character thinks it's suitable...Vivian (Headly) opts not to post the ad, instead re-writing it to encompass, in her eyes, a very honest interpretation of said position, i.e. low pay, boring work, etc. Despite (or, because of) the ad's bluntness, one applicant does appear, in a thin, pasty, soft-spoken man named Bartleby (Glover). Upon seeing no one else is going to apply, Paymer's character hires Bartleby, and things seem to work out well, as Bartleby works very quickly and efficiently, but that soon changes as this once superior worker has now becomes non-working worker, picking and choosing what tasks he wishes to perform (fewer and fewer each day), with the standard reply of "I'd prefer not to" to those menial tasks he wishes to no longer perform. This sets off a quiet struggle between Paymer's character and...the wall? It might was well be, as Bartleby is as about forthcoming, offering no explanations of any kind for his non-working (oh, he still shows up everyday, he just doesn't do any work). You'd think this would be cause to terminate the employment of said individual, and Paymer's character tries, but just isn't successful, almost as if he can't, like he's somehow bound to Bartleby in unseen fashion (perhaps a magic tether, one made up of a combination of feelings ranging from guilt to envy).

The best part of this contemporary retelling of Melville's classic tale is Paymer, a conformist struggling to understand and come to terms with this non-conformist entity that he has inadvertently allowed into his environment, which has now taken hold like a mold settling into a home. His frustration grows rapidly, as Bartleby continually confounds his employer with his unrelenting, pacifistic stance of not working, refusing to perform even the simplest of tasks, and offering no reasoning or cause for his behavior. Glover does very well as Bartleby, and given that he has so few lines, his character must come through in non-verbal means, and does, in a truly cryptic and puzzling manner. The impression I got was that this character was posing a non-confrontational rebellion against the tedium inherent within the bureaucracy that forces people into the unnatural state of accepting automatons, extracting and crushing the very soul of these individuals by means of menial and tedious tasks for the sake of keeping the machine alive. Another actor I though did well was Glenne Headly as Vivian, the office manager, and only woman, tempting her male counterparts with homemade candies and a flirtatious nature. It struck me more that her character acted the way she did to validate her feministic qualities, to her co-workers, and herself, as the day to day humdrum works to obfuscate such qualities, as they only serve to disrupt and distract from the nature of the work. Chaykin was good, as the sort of office nut and hypochondriac, unwilling to participate in niceties often associated with people who maintain a day-to-day business relationship, and little else. Piscopo did better than I thought, as the smarmy, sleazy office Lothario (his amorous activities remain mostly outside of business hours), but I couldn't help wonder if he was just playing the role as directed, or if he understood his position within the context the story, and the story itself. The bits of humor interspersed throughout the film, those not inherent to the original story, helped to make this easier to take for those not familiar with Melville's absurd tale, but I think those who are familiar with the source material will not be disappointed. Some things have changed (which character was Vivian supposed to represent? Nipper? Ginger Nut?), mostly superficial, but the core elements are here, and come through very well. I thought the direction was done well and helped present the story as well as anyone could to the silver screen. The sets were minimal (love that 2nd office), providing a suitable backdrop. Basing the entire score around Theremin music was an interesting choice, and one that seemed entirely appropriate, but it still got on my nerves after awhile.

The non-anamorphic wide screen print provided on this DVD looked pretty good, from what I could tell. I've heard others have had problems with after images trailing the actors, but I saw none. The sound is quite good, and there are two options; Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. As far as special features, there are more than I would have thought including a trailer, filmographies, interviews, a featurette titles About the Theremin, and a mini-director commentary.

Cookieman108


Rating:
Summary: QUIRKY AND OFFBEAT...
Review: Based upon the story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, this film adaptation of the author's mid-nineteenth century tale of existential alienation is effectively transposed to the twenty first century by its screenwriters, Catherine Napoli and Jonathan Parker.

Featuring a stellar cast and deft direction, the film takes place in an office building perched high up on a hill, which is inaccessible to pedestrians. Isolated and insular, this building houses a public records firm run by an unnamed boss (David Paymer). The film is staffed by Vivian (Glenn Headley), a sexy, flirtatious secretary, Rocky (Joe Piscopo), self-styled ladies man, and Ernie (Maury Chaykin), a sad sack sort of fellow.

When the boss gets a city contract, he seeks to hire another employee. Enter Bartleby (Crispin Glover), a cadaverously pale, funereally dressed man. As there are no other applicants, the slightly creepy Bartleby gets the job. An odd duck, he initially works as if he were a house on fire. As time goes on, his boss discovers that Bartleby prefers not to do any work. This sets off a reaction from all those who work with Bartleby, whose life spirals ever downward with his decision to withdraw from the world.

Crispin Glover, David Paymer, and Glenn Headly are brilliant in their respective roles. The more peripheral office characters, unfortunately, have little to work with, though they do their best with the material with which they have to work. Their roles, however, are one dimensional and add little to the film in terms of depth.

This off-beat, quirky film also resonates with dissonance through the use of bright, odd color combinations for its sets. It serves to keep the film a tad off balance, which works effectively given its premise. In the end, however, the film fails to sustain itself fully, as it starts a spiral downward towards the end, unable to sustain the weight of its own ballast.

Rating:
Summary: i would prefer not to.
Review: Excellent casting and arresting visuals punctuate this 2001 adaptation of the otherwise boring Melleville short 'Bartleby the Scrivener'. Here, Jonathan Parker directs a quirky and intelligent vehicle for marvelous dark and absurdist comedy, somehow transforming the droll story into a modern and entertaining piece. He allows pushed, unique, and bright visuals in a truly intelligent story some will need a dictionary to comprehend.

Parker makes great choices with performances here, and the genius casting of the film allows it to succeed in its absurdity; other actors might not be able to balance such subtle eccentricities as these. In main and supporting roles, these actors make a very inconsistent script seem less so, illuminating the hilarious threads of the story and burying the more off-putting quirks. As the story drifts into absurd, the actors keep it subtle, and as it becomes banal, they rescue it with charisma.

Strong and jubilant design is a complement to the heightened reality of the film, with bright colors covering walls and gleefully mismatched ensembles. Wah Ho Chan lights the film effectively, and the combined imagination of he and Parker regarding silhouettes and smog sequences is a very pleasurable thing to witness.

With all the positive aspects of the film, it still remains somewhat incomplete, likely due to the very anticlimactic end. There is a certain something to its resolution that screams 'rushed', but any flaws are excusable when outshone by such an endlessly cool Crispin Glover performance. After adjusting to his very specific delivery, the audience soon finds themselves hardly paying mind to the plot, let alone the completeness of the resolution, as they become enraptured with giggles each time Glover enters the frame.

Rating:
Summary: I would prefer not to!
Review: Great film, better than the 1970 version. C.Glover is perfectly cast as Bartleby. This version , unlike the 1970 film, is basically straight out of Melville's story! Almost word for word in some scenes. That's a good thing. The only weakness is the over involvement of Glenne Headley as the sexy secratary. Too much screen time in my opinion. David Paymer is perfect as the sympathetic boss and he and Glover work great together. The DVD extras are amusing, with cast inetrviews in character,(except Glover) ,his interview is for "real", but he's so quirky , you would think it was Bartleby himself talking. The Theremin soundtrack added a bit of strangeness which was good also. Buy this DVD, it's well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: emil41
Review: I can't believe that I devoted ninety something minutes of my life to watch this garbage. I kept watching it, to see if something, anything, would happen. When it ended, I was relieved. I know of no special features on this disc as I couldn't get it out of my DVD player fast enough. I see absolutely no reason for this movie to be made. I thought that Tomb Raider II was a bad choice for a movie this weekend, it actually turned out to be the better (?) of the two. I can't believe that I actually had to give it a star. Why would anyone want to see something like this in the theater?

Rating:
Summary: Odd movie, but interesting nonetheless
Review: I was originally NOT going to give Bartleby 5 stars, but with all the bad reviews here, I thought I would even things out a bit. I think a lot of people just didn't get it, although granted the short story by Melville that Bartleby is based on is certainly a lot easier relate to. The movie was sort of parody thereof. It been suggested that Bartleby is suffering from soul sickness. That he's dead inside from all the years spent at the dead letter office. He is just existing on existence's most minimalist level. He'd "prefer not to" because he realizes the futility of it all. I think the biggest problem with the movie was that they were trying to turn something heavy into a "comedy" when clearly the label doesn't apply.

The acting I thought was great especially Crisping Glover and Glenne Headly. Also the colors that they used were fantastic, Crispin Glover was literally black and white , in fact I am sure they used makeup on Crispin, there is no way he is that pale.

Overall highly recommend if you are looking for something a bit different.