Zoe Cassavetes’ latest film, Day Out of Days, is not so much a love letter to Los Angeles as it is a brutally honest slap in the face. A lofty yet realistic portrayal of trying to survive in Hollyweird, Cassavetes uses the city as her playground to tell this intimate story of an aging actress. From the Chateau Marmont, to Griffith Park, to Silverlake liquor marts, the film and its story is quintessentially LA, for better or for worse.
Taking noticeable inspiration from Sofia Coppola’s pastel-colored and muted aesthetic, Days is a female driven narrative centered around 40-year-old actress Mia Roarke (Alexia Landeau), who struggles to stay relevant in a town where wrinkles are red flags and age is everything.
Seen glowing and basking in the limelight in the film’s opening scene, a mock press junket interview for her latest hit film that reveals a bright future of fame and success ahead, Mia finds that 14 years after her big break, the roles are now only trickling in. With an agent (Brooke Smith) that is about ready to dump her, a famous ex-husband (Alessandro Nivola) newly remarried, and her mother’s (Melanie Griffith) pill-popping disappointment of her daughter’s backwards-moving career, Mia’s discouragement is felt and only grows bigger.
A humiliating meeting with an eccentric filmmaker (Eddie Izard) here, an unsuccessful network audition for a “kooky mom” role there, and an unsatisfying part in a low budget horror flick with a verbally abusive director (Vincent Kartheiser) drive Mia to the point of near breakdown, which the film remains too self-composed to truly offer. However, things take a turn for the best when lo and behold, Mia is offered the role of a lifetime – and so, the superficial circle of showbiz remains unbroken.
From the Chateau Marmont, to Griffith Park, to Silverlake liquor marts, the film and its story is quintessentially LA, for better or for worse.
This story definitely doesn’t win points for exploring a theme that has been seen many times over, though Cassavetes clearly is perceptive at subtly poking fun at the obvious stereotypes surrounding the self-validating struggle of the Los Angeles actor.
However, it becomes increasingly frustrating to watch Mia stand in the way of herself throughout the entire film. She is her own worst enemy and the fact that she so is woefully subjected to these constant put-downs is tiring. For the most part, our protagonist just lies down and rolls over. Some things that go against her, like her age and the roles she auditions for versus the ones that are offered to her, are beyond her control. But when she finds herself in other situations like being talked down to on a blind date and getting taken advantage of by the coke-sniffing, leather glove wearing director Dag (Izzard), she passively receives it, which successfully highlights her soft and gentle self amidst the more deplorable aspects of the city but fails to stimulate much of an impact otherwise.
Mia takes baths in the middle of the day and pawns off her jewelry for money, and one would think that if she has been out of the spotlight for 14 years and is desperate enough to sell her extensive wardrobe online, she should maybe start thinking about finding another career path. It’s her portrayal of this yearning attempt at a fruitless game that comes across as foolish, and it’s hard to sympathize with or feel sorry for her.
For those familiar with the cliches of being an aspiring actor, Day Out of Days may frustrate you just as much as you feel it may completely understand you. Mia’s continually disappointed and dragging demeanor is the biggest distraction of the film. If it was meant to portray Mia as a role model for strong, confident women in control of their lives and unwilling to settle for expected societal norms, then there’s a problem here, as Mia comes across as anything but in starring in Cassavettes’ artistically made lensing of stuperficial living. Although, if you have wanderlust for LA and want a really easy way to see all of the emotionally empty, celebrity-ridden hot spots that the city has to offer, then let this film serve as your mini vacation.
Day Out of Days is playing on June 17th at 9:00 PM during the LA Film Fest. Tickets here.
[youtube height=”360″ width=”640″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfRpI0B1XOM[/youtube]
