Review: The Five Senses (2000)
Laura Clifford
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A massage therapist entrusts her teenage daughter to entertain a
client's young child, but the little girl wanders off while Rachel spies
on a lovemaking couple. Down the hall, music-loving optometrist Richard yearns
for his own little girl while facing declining hearing. Upstairs, Rona makes
speciality cakes that are tasteless while her Italian holiday fling, who
arrives unexpectedly, cooks up a storm as he pitches woo. Rona's ex,
Robert is meeting with all his (mostly male) ex-lovers, looking for the scent
of love that may still linger in "The Five Senses."
LAURA:
"The Five Senses" begins as Anna Miller (Molly Parker, "Kissed") emerges
from a depravation chamber. She's under the sensitive care of Ruth (Gabrielle
Rose, "The Sweet Hereafter"), who's trying to make sense of her alien
daughter Rachel (Nadia Litz), a high school dropout. Rona (Mary-Louise Parker)
is trying to learn Italian from cassettes even before she knows Roberto
(Marco Leonardi) is on his way. Robert (Daniel MacIvor), who makes his
living cleaning, warns Rona about Roberto's motives while wishing himself
into the lives of a married client couple (she produces perfumes, natch).
This bleak Canadian film seems influenced by both Egoyan (star Rose and
the theme of a missing child) and Kieslowski (people interconnecting by
chance), yet its own theme remains muddled. Just what is writer/director
Jeremy Podeswa trying to say here?
The somber score and shadowy, mauve urban look (cinematography by Greg
Middleton) help maintain an even tone, yet the film's characters mostly
achieve no enlightenment. Rachel meets oddball Rupert (Brendan Fletcher),
a young man who's as much an outsider as she. Their blossoming friendship
aids Rachel's relationship with her mother and seemingly benefits
little Amy Lee Miller (Elise Francis Stolk) as well. Yet while Rona is
inspired to attempt to make a good cake by Roberto, the distrust embedded
by Robert keeps her from seeing the truly lovely things he attempts to do
for her. Robert finally finds the scent of love in a place he didn't even
know he wanted to find it, only to be left bereft and maybe lonelier than
he was before his quest. Richard (Philippe Volter) plays lots of classical
music while reinitiating an old affair, but the script pretty much leaves
his character stranded, less connected than the rest.
The actors fare about as well as their characters' fates, with Rose
and Litz bringing nice emotional depth to their work. In a subplot,
we learn via Rupert, (an interesting turn from Fletcher), that Rachel believes
herself a death curse ever since the death of her father when he was killed
driving to pick her up from a school mishap. (This is strengthened when a fly
on a windowpane falls dead as she approaches.) Also strong is MacIvor as
Robert, sympathetic in his attempt to connect while remaining pragmatic about
his less-than-movie-star looks. No one else in the cast makes much of an
impression.
"The Five Senses" is an interesting, moody little film, yet it doesn't linger.
In the realm of these senses, all becomes muffled.
C+
ROBIN:
The five senses - sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing - are the grist for
the independent filmmaking mill of director/wrter Jeremy Podeswa. His story
takes place in the city where the lives of the film's characters will cross
because of a single, fateful event. Massage therapist Ruth (Gabrielle Rose) is
treating Anna Miller (Molly Parker) when Ruth's daughter Rachel (Nadia Litz)
loses Anna's pre-school daughter Amy Lee (Elise Francis Stolk) in the park.
Rachel meets Rupert (Brendan Fletcher), a young voyeur (sight). Robert (Daniel
MacIvor) is a professional housecleaner who claims he can detect the scent of
love (smell). A custom cake maker, Rona (Mary-Louise Parker) has lost her
ability to taste. Finally, Richard (Philippe Volter), an older man, is
suffering from deteriorating hearing. The paths of all of these, and other,
people, will cross in Podeswa's ensemble film, "The Five Senses."
This symbolic assigning of each of the senses to a story character is held
together with the binding dilemma of the missing little Amy Lee Miller. The
little girl's disappearance impacts all of the principles to varying degrees as
they, each, cope with the daily problems of life. For some, like Anna and Ruth,
the crisis is nearly devastating as the time drags by and the search for the
little girl spreads and hope for her recovery dims. For Rachel, who blames
herself not only for the disappearance, but also for her father's death years
before, it is another reason for her teen angst. Others, too, are impacted by
the crisis hitting so close to home.
Helmer Podeswa uses his large ensemble cast to provide a slice of
life-in-crisis look at some average Joes in New York. He mostly succeeds in
telling each person's tale and letting us, the viewer, have a glimpse into their
lives. We don't, though, build up any empathy for the individuals as the story
moves, briskly, from one player to the next. There is some interesting stuff
going on, but I never could embrace any of the characters.
"The Five Senses" is an interesting exercise in ensemble filmmaking and
storytelling, but does not involve the audience in the emotions of the events.
Though the crisis involves a missing little girl, there is no sense of danger
for the child. Some effort is given to building a minor plot line that
introduces witnesses who say she left the park with "a man," but there is
little time given to the discouragement and frustration of the searchers.
Writer/director Podeswa tells us his story in a lean, concise manner. There
isn't a lot of fat to the plot and the scripter efficiently ties up all the
story threads in a neat ending. There is talent in the work, but a more fully
realized story and fewer characters would make for a better movie. I give "The
Five Senses" a C.
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