Anthony Hopkins channels his inner David Lynch for this MULHOLLAND DRIVE-like descent into the warped mind of a Hollywood screenwriter. Felix Bonhoeffer (Hopkins) appears to be losing his grip on reality. After he witnesses a highway road-rage incident go deadly, Felix's world begins to spin out of control. For one thing, the characters he's written into his most recent script have begun to appear in his actual life. Two of these figures (played by Christian Slater and Jeffrey Tambor) happen to be evil hit men who have just knocked off another seemingly innocent victim (Michael Clarke Duncan). But when Slater's character drops dead on set, the maniacal studio boss (John Turturro) sends Felix to the Mojave Desert to rewrite the script and resolve the situation. Along the way, he struggles to separate reality from fiction before the two blur together to the point where he no longer knows what world he's living in.
With SLIPSTREAM, Hopkins delivers a truly experimental film that will confound many viewers. By the film's conclusion, however, all of the cinematic trickery will make sense. Using a striking assault of visual and sonic tricks--quick-cutting, sound distortion, seemingly nonsensical stock footage--writer/director/composer Hopkins burrows into the mind of a man in a way that most films would never dare. The result is a confounding yet exhilarating satire of Hollywood that features standout performances from its all-star cast.
Theatrical Release: October 26, 2007
DVD Features:
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary: Anthony Hopkins - Director
Behind the Scenes: Making Of
Director of Photography
Dante Spinotti: Director of Photography
Costume Designer
Julie Weiss: Costume Designer, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998)
Review 1:
"Themes of mortality are clearly at work here, but so are celebrity, writing, acting and the art of filmmaking itself."
Source: Box Office
p.115 11/01/2007