Chris Messina may be better known as Danny Castellano on “The Mindy Project,” or from his feature film roles in Argo, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. He may even be recognized as Dianna Agron’s cheating husband in the Sam Smith music video, “I’m Not The Only One.” With an impressive resume so far, Messina now adds to it the title of director, in Alex of Venice, his debut film that is every bit as quietly commanding as the title sounds.
On a foggy Southern California morning, surfers wade in the ocean looking like seals, and hundreds of tourists pack the commercial Venice Beach boardwalk. But in the quiet suburbs of the beach town, Alex (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) sets out to change the world – or rather, keep the world exactly as it is without it changing any further.
Alex is an environment lawyer whose mission is to preserve the city’s natural habitats. Yet the nature of the job, coupled with her extreme drive and work ethic, leaves little time for family. What can only be described as years of frustration later, her artist/surfing husband (Messina) reveals that he can no longer be a “Stay at home housewife” to her career and wants a break. Blindsided by the sudden change, Alex is left alone, which although scary at first, ultimately becomes an opportunity to re-discover who she is and find peace with the person she has become.
As the proverbial glue holding her family together, Winstead gives another powerful and soulful performance that we can now expect from any film with her name in it.
At its core, Alex of Venice is all about the actors. The script is simple enough to execute on an indie budget, but what really makes the film stand out rests in the hands of the characters and fortunately, the is no weak link here. Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the title role is becoming a name synonymous with exceptional, grounded and powerful performances, and she is no different as she pushes this small indie film to highly buzzed about levels.
The film’s most notable supporting character is Don Johnson, who plays Alex’s father, an aging actor who’s early onset Alzheimer’s causes him to grapple daily. Johnson brings an exceptional performance to the screen, seeing him struggle with his lines to Chekov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” in which he has been cast as the lead role, is extremely moving.
As the proverbial glue holding her family together, Winstead gives another powerful and soulful performance that we can now expect from any film with her name in it. Her humor comes from the presumably off-script impromptu actions and nuances of her character against the stresses of a life-changing work case, an ailing father, and dependent ten-year-old son. Her attitude and now forced responsibilities as a working single mother is contrary to the Venice beach lifestyle, her workaholic nature is juxtaposed in a city of free-spirited artists.
In keeping with the easy-breezy nature of the film, music contributions from the Los Angeles band Poolside, self-described as “daytime disco,” along with Alexander Ebert’s “A Million Years” to close the film, are summations of the film’s blissful and sentimental vibe.
Messina has a clear vision for Alex of Venice, all of his experience on set as an actor has made his transition behind the camera seem easy and natural. Long camera takes dominate the early scenes, giving the impression of fluidity and ease. While the script has some unresolved story lines and overall, isn’t very strong in its linear story, it is the cast that makes it work.
Give in to your suspension of disbelief for this one. Taking out a few curse words and unnecessary sexual language could have seen this film with a PG-13 rating as opposed to R, which the film is, and would most likely have given the film a larger platform, and seem more appealing to the audience at large. Flaws aside, Messina should be proud of his debut film.
Alex of Venice opens at the Laemmle Royal Theatre on Friday.
