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	A Slipping Down Life
	Toni Kalem Lili Taylor, Guy Pearce, John Hawkes, Sara Rue, Irma P. Hall, Tom Bower, Shawnee Smith, Veronica Cartwright, Marshall Bell, Bruno Kirby, Clea DuVall 1999		The presence of lead actors as respected and reliable as Guy Pearce ("Memento," "L.A. Confidential") and Lili Taylor ("I Shot Andy Warhol," TV's "Six Feet Under") was no assurance that "A Slipping Down Life," an adaptation of a novel by Anne Tyler, would work as a movie. As hard as all the concerned parties try, it doesn't, and it sat, unreleased, for four years. Perhaps no one would have been able to make something interesting out of an unremittingly quirky relationship drama broken up by unmemorable, abstruse rock tunes. The story had possibilities: Misfit small-town Southern girl Evie (Taylor) hears rock singer Drumstrings Casey (Pearce) interviewed on the radio, seeks him out when he's performing at a local roadhouse and offers herself to him. She's obsessed, but painfully shy; he's narcissistic, but self-destructive. She goes off the deep end. Somehow, they connect. All the elements are in place for a story of crazy young love. But the expected chemical reaction fizzles. Taylor and Pearce come off as too old and been-through-the-mill to fully realize the callowness of their characters. Mention should be made of Pearce's vocal skills; he sings all of Drumstrings' songs, does so adequately, and should be sensible enough to hang on to the day job. With Sara Rue, Irma P. Hall, Veronica Cartwright, Bruno Kirby and Clea DuVall.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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