By By Taylor V A Nars Dale Newreleases
In this offbeat comedic-drama a young street urchin (Michael Pitt) befriends a wanna-be celebrity photographer (Steve Buscemi) and falls head over heels for the paparazzo’s most recent subject — a beautiful pop music star (Alison Lohman).
It may be that I’m biased, because as a music fan, I’m inclined to respond favorably to any flick that opens with a song by the Dandy Warhols … or perhaps it’s that I fell hard for the lead character, Toby Grace, who reminds me of every man I ever dated: Dirty, broke, and in need of rescue (which may be why I’m still single — but that my friends is a story for another column) … or it could just be that Tom DiCillo’s “Delirious” is a brilliant film that simply works on almost every emotional, verbal and artistic level. I’m going with option number three.
From the minute Pitt wakes in a New York City dumpster and begins his frenetic pattern of survival, we have left the driver’s seat and are in director DiCillo’s capable hands for a hilariously funny and magnificently moving adventure.
There’s nothing remotely romantic about being destitute yet DiCillo, with his graceful cinematic dexterity, permits us to suspend reality, and thus fall in love with Pitt’s portrayal of a homeless youth and his unexpected rise to reality-show fame.
Buscemi plays Les Galantine, a down-on-his-luck photographer whose “big” industry events include the “Soap Opera Stars Against STD” (please, go see the film, if only for this scene), which he attends with the hopes of pilfering as many gift bags as possible. Buscemi’s desperation is evident and his acting always believable but it is Pitt who steals the show with his subtle glances, brilliant grasp of character and his understated performance.
That Galantine cannot envision himself as part of the celebrity subculture is a function of his myopia and self-loathing — all a result of his parentage (let’s blame it all on our folks — though in this case — it really is the cause). And if you liked the mom and dad in “Buffalo 66,” you’ll love the Galantines who epitomize bitter dys-functionality (see it for this scene as well).
Lohman is terrific as the melancholic young starlet/pop star suffering over a bad breakup and creative ennui; Elvis Costello gives a great cameo; and Paul Zucker also deserves a nod for his seamless editing. It’s not often one is able to “get lost” within a film.
Go see it and you will be deliriously happy you did.
TAYLOR VAN ARSDALE is a writer/producer and movie reviewer for the Daily Press. She
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 6, 2007. Read the original PDF.