Résumé Wiki
Sur les hauteurs d'Hollywood, Eddie, un puissant directeur de casting et ses 3 meilleurs amis, Mickey qui fait un break loin de sa femme et de ses enfants, l'acteur Artie et le comédien débutant Phil, s'adonnent à l'art de la repartie pleine d'esprit et à l'évocation de vieux souvenirs.Ce qui les unit : sexe, mensonges et obsessions. Au sein de ce club exclusivement masculin, interviennent trois femmes à la dérive : la belle Darlène, Donna, une adolescente abandonnée et Bonnie une danseuse exotique.

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Fiche technique
Titre original : Hurlyburly
Réalisation : Anthony Drazan
Scénario : David Rabe
Musique : David Baerwald
Film États-Unis
Format : Couleurs - 1,85:1 - son Dolby numérique
Genre : Drame
Durée : 118 minutes
Date de sortie : 6 février 2002

Cast
Sean Penn : Eddie
Kevin Spacey : Mickey
Robin Wright Penn : Darlene
Chazz Palminteri : Phil
Garry Shandling : Artie
Anna Paquin : Donna
Meg Ryan : Bonnie
Kenny Vance : le chanteur
Michaline Babich : la réceptionniste

La critique de James Berardinelli (1)
Hurlyburly is a talky film the entire movie is constructed around lengthy sequences of dialogue where the characters talk and talk and talk,often saying nothing. However, because the vocal rhythms are so perfect, the words are so well-chosen, and the performances are so powerful, listening to so much talk is a pleasure, not a chore. It's possible to lose oneself in Hurlyburly, precisely because nearly every line has a hypnotic quality. The action and suspense is in the words, not the deeds. We don't wait to see what the characters will do next, we wait to hear what they will say next.

As is often true of verbose movies, Hurlyburly is based on a play - in this case, David Rabe's blistering 1984 off-Broadway sensation. Director Anthony Drazan was the third film maker to approach Rabe for the rights to the production, but the first one in which the writer could sense a"personal involvement." Despite an A-list cast, Drazan had difficulty obtaining the necessary funding to make the film, in large part because many Hollywood big wigs saw a little too much of themselves in the characters fashioned by the uncompromising script.

Central to Hurlyburly is Eddie (Sean Penn), a fast-talking, coke-sniffing Hollywood casting agent whose contempt for others is exceeded only by his contempt for himself. Eddie has surrounded himself with three equally degenerate friends: his housemate and business partner, Mickey(Kevin Spacey), a mindless thug named Phil (Chazz Palminteri), and a sycophant writer, Artie (Gary Shandling).

Women have no real place in this mens' world, except as sexual objects and punching bags. Three female characters drift through the movie: Darlene (Robin Wright Penn),the love of Eddie's life; Donna (Anna Paquin), a hitchhiker who trades sex for lodging; and Bonnie (Meg Ryan), a perpetually stoned stripperwith an oral talent.

La critique de James Berardinelli (2)
Hurlyburly is likely to be named by some viewers as an exercise in misogyny, but the characters display that trait, not the movie. These four men are among the least likable individuals to populate a movie screen this year, and Drazan makes no attempt to hide their shortcomings.

Hardly a scene goes by when someone isn't snorting cocaine or spewing angry epithets. Eddie, Mickey, Phil, and Artie are misanthropes -hateful people who, by their own admission,are"self-absorbed and distracted "Eddie is in the midst of a search for himself,but everything and everyone around him is shallow and pointless. As one character notes, Eddie surrounds himself with losers so that no matter how far he falls, there will always be someone in his immediate circle who is lower.

The dialogue is consistently brilliant. Both the words and the cadence are reminiscent of David Mamet, and it's always fascinating to see where seemingly-normal conversations go as the characters follow trains of thought onto bizarre tangents. There's never a lack of things to say -these characters don't shut up. The question of whether to eat at a Chinese or French restaurant develops into a passionate fight over fidelity. A darkly humorous story about oral sex ends with a shocking revelation.

And one particular exchange between Eddie and Mickey about the latter's relationship with Darlene extends over several face-to-face meetings and phone conversations, winding seamlessly from scene to scene. However, well-written dialogue is only fifty percent of why Hurlyburly works. The other major factor is the acting. This film is a showcase for several actors, and arguably contains the best ensemble participation of the year.

La critique de James Berardinelli (fin)
Sean Penn gives a towering, intense performance as Eddie, getting into the character's skin and inhabiting him completely. It's an amazing turn and a frighteningly believable portrayal of an opportunist on the edge. Penn brings layers to his desperation that many lesser actors cannot conceive of, much less craft on the screen. Penn's three male co-stars -- Chazz Palminteri as the talentless actor whose chief ability is to whack people(women in particular) Kevin Spacey as the amoral but amusing Mickey, who's never without a dry comeback, and Gary Shandling as the oily Artie - are capable of holding their own in scenes with him, which is a testament to the strength of their performances.

On the female side, there are two successful examples of casting against type. Those who think of Meg Ryan as all sugar and spice will be surprised to see her in this role, where she radiates a slutty sexuality. And Anna Paquin (The Piano, Fly Away Home), perhaps following in Christina Ricci's footsteps, is effective as a vapid, oversexed girl who trades her body for a bed. Actually, it's almost a shame that Ryan and Paquin are so good - they make us want to see more of their characters.

Many viewers will have difficulty determining whether Hurlyburly is a black comedy or a tragedy. For, while the film contains its share of absurd and darkly comical moments, the overall portrait is a grim one. The characters are bottom-feeders - scum that prey off the weaknesses of others and revel in the bleakest aspects of the Hollywood culture. Hurlyburly would be easier to take if its portrayals weren't so dead-on. As with Your Friends and Neighbors, it's understandable if movie-goers leave the theater feeling unclean. 120 minutes with these people is enough to taint even the sunniest optimist.

My only complaint about the film is that it runs a little too long (although, at two hours, it's only two-thirds the length of the play). During the last half hour, as Eddie's search for meaning in life reaches its climax, the energy level drops off. With a little judicious pruning, Hurlyburly could have been even more powerful and disturbing than it is. Still, in a case like this, when every line is crafted (not just written), an unwillingness to cut is understandable. And, for the sheer pleasure of watching such virtuoso performances, it's worth the extra time.

La critique des spectateurs d'ImDB

Brilliant writing, marvelous and memorable performances round out the craftsmanship of this film

Author: lornespry from Japan
6 June 2006

For many movie fans who truly love the art of film, a good screenplay is the jeweled movement on which marvelous films turn and pivot. They remain with you as memorable experiences, be they like Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, Gandhi, or The Maltese Falcon. The genre hardly matters;good screen play is an essential in even the action movie. Too bad so much mediocre screen writing abounds when good talent seems so obtainable.

'Hurlyburly' was adapted from the play for the screen by the author. In a word, it is brilliant. The acting is superb in every character, and the casting was perfect. Once again, Sean Penn gives a performance that is indicative of his paramount position as one of the very best actors of his generation — a superlative star given any generation.

I can just imagine that this film has made some pretty bad friends in some quarters — and in both genders. There is no hiding the fact that this sort of world exists to some extent anywhere a group of hedonistic, single males (or men who think that they are still single) gather to hang out, relax or party. But a viewer will be missing the point if she/he thinks that 's all there is — gratuitous, reckless living.

Marshall McLuan's theory of amputation kept occurring to me after watching the film — the idea that with each additional machine in our culture we are being cut off from our humanity. This is a psychodrama that does not resort to the unspoken, latent trauma that lurks in thepast to trouble our characters. Something in Eddie is more truncated than broken, and although he doesn't know what it is, he is intensely aware that it is causing him despair, loneliness and pain. The drugs maybe both cause and effect. Beyond the pain itself, he is completely unsure about what he thinks he is supposed to feel. Some considerable irony floats around this issue, and to the director's credit it is revealed with cunning grace.

This film demonstrates that amidst all the lowest common denominating crud, American mainstream cinema is occasionally distributing intriguing works of art. This may not be the film to purposely chose on a sad evening of angst and regret, but if you were to catch it at such a moment, the performances might sweep you up, and the film that was a play could beguile you. I gave it an unequivocal 10 for the same reasons your movie guide gives 5's for the films that I would love to have in my tape and disk library.