Levity (2003)
Manuel Jordan is a man who is free after serving 23 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. After nearly two decades of staring at his victim's face on a newspaper clipping in his cell, the newly paroled man seeks redemption. Instead, redemption—in the form of a mysterious minister and two needy women— finds him.
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Touches You
Excellent, Without a doubt!!
An Exercise In Nonsense
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Beginning with the title, it is not a movie attracting wide audiences or interest from advertisers, but it is definitely among the best indie/Sundance movies - both topic-wise and actor-wise. As for the issues touched, viewers can ponder on and over forgiveness, remorse, revenge, second chance, making choices and some other complex and ambivalent things, all this packed in a decent story with unexpected twists and realistic ending, and carried out by talented actors such as Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, Kirsten Dunst... They never let the viewers down in the sense that they know which roles to pick, wide fame and big paycheck are not top priority for them.Levity is for you if you are not afraid of profundity and painful/serious issues, and if slower run is not equal to boredom.
Actress Holly Hunter is wasted in "Levity", a schmaltzy, contrived, by-the-numbers drama about an ex-con (a fishing for accolades Billy Bob Thornton) who attempts to atone for a murder he committed 22 years ago. In this regard Thornton returns to the city in which he used to live, befriends a preacher, women, kids and works in community houses. When he meets a rebellious teen who seems destined to a life of crime, Thornton steps in and helps nudge the kid in the right direction.Slow, self-important, assembled from clichés and filled with stock characters stuck in a stock plot, the film is painful to watch. For this film done better, see "The Yellow Hankerchief" or "Frozen River".2/10 - Worth no viewings.
A real contender for the worst movie ever made. Neck and neck with "Plan 9 from Outer Space." The big difference being Plan 9 was made for $500. Pretty much everybody associated with this movie could arguably deserve to be shot. Too bad about losing Morgan Freeman! A real contender for the worst movie ever made. Neck and neck with "Plan 9 from Outer Space." The big difference being Plan 9 was made for $500. Pretty much everybody associated with this movie could arguably deserve to be shot. Too bad about losing Morgan Freeman! How do films like this get made? Should the geriatric hamster who checks the scripts be replaced? Possibly with a grade 2 class somewhere in Alaska? Well that's OK. So long as millions got spent. too bad about it being a vomit sandwich.
"Levity" is about redemption; it is about a lot of things inside something ironically simple, about philosophy and the human mind, about thoughts, second chances and about many other things if I want to say them. It's also one of those pictures with a cast of terrific actors who got interested in the project for some reason and did it. It is worth it, if you like slow and detailed stories that are easy to understand f you don't think much; kind of like "The Constant Gardener". But "Levity" is different from 'Gardener' in the way that things are more difficult to understand; the film is truly philosophic. The music, a mix of powerful songs, is a key element in the development of the story, which maintains a mood of depression and sadness.The story was written by Ed Solomon, who also directed. What is interesting and discussable about Solomon is that he seems to have saved his best lines and ideas for his first movie as a director, because he has written nothing like this in the past. His movie credits as a writer include: "Men in Black", "Charlie's Angels" and "Super Mario Bros", among other films that are not better than this one, which isn't great itself.You like the movie because of its honesty; the honesty of its story, of its characters, of its images. The frames and sceneries are so beautiful and so clear that you are not able to take your eyes off the screen; maybe Roger Deakins (director of photography: "The man who wasn't there", "A Beautiful Mind") has something to do with it. Then you've got the terrific cast, which makes the movie even more watchable. I was surprised that Morgan Freeman's voice is recognizable over a phone. Freeman plays a role in the film, which he also produced. At the top of his game and in the platform of a calm man; he speaks his lines as if they weren't Ed Solomon's but his own. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Manuel, the main point of the movie. Thornton, an actor who can go from peaceful ("The man who wasn't there") to totally crazy ("Bad Santa"), finds himself closer to the side of the movie in black and white than to the one in color, if you know what I mean; and he does it perfectly well; I still wonder how he studies a role, how he constructs it.Holly Hunter is the female element. Hunter is the kind of actress who can pass totally unnoticeable in a film, but however leaving you a big impression. I admire that quality in a performer; and Hunter portrays her role so normally, that she comes as the closest to a human being in the picture. Then we have the talented Kirsten Dunst, over the edge as most of the time, and creating another good character with a lot of authority and commitment. As it looks like, "Levity" can't fail; but it's not going to blow your mind off. If that pleases you