Revolution 9 | Michael Risley, Adrienne Shelly | absolutely fabulous     vhs video:     Revolution 9   Revolution 9 Michael Risley, Adrienne Shelly Fox Lorber, 2003 average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image  for more information click here        highly recommended Tim McCann?s (Desolation Angels) harrowing thriller about a young man?s mental breakdown when he imagines himself the victim of an overwhelming sensory attack by corporate media. Great Film One of the few films that addresses relationships in an intellegent manner, whereas the focus isn't "sex", but everything that makes up why people care about others, why they fall in love, and how hard it is too give up on someone when it starts to head south. Great Film. absolutely fabulous this movie was amazing--breath taking--enough said. When things fall apart It's heartbreaking to see actress Adrienne Shelley--who turns in an excellent performance--on screen here, knowing she was murdered earlier this year. As the fiancee of James Jackson--played uncommonly well by Michael Risley--she's lends solid support to a young man whose mind is rapidly disintegrating. Suddenly beset by paranoid fantasies, Jackson starts accusing his co-workers of moving things around; then his pre-teen nephew of doing things he's nowhere near capable of doing; finally, his fiancee. He traces his mental collapse to a TV commercial and then finds the individual responsible for making the commercial--Spalding Gray, in a wry performance as a still photographer full of himself who was given the opportunity by a perfume company to shoot a TV spot for their flagship product, Revolution #9. Spalding Gray himself committed suicide; it's really eerie that two of the lead cast members are no longer with us, specifically having lost their lives very recently. The pacing of the film is perfect. Tim McCann, the director, knows how to not only get the best out of the actors he's working with, but also is expert at camera angles, capturing the most powerfully subtle nuances of expression and emotional import. His frequent use of close-ups works well here; it's often annoying to see close-ups in a film because it feels like the director is using them having run out of other ideas. But McCann is a strong filmmaker; he fuses his smart dialogue with exactly the right moves by the actors and the right shots, the right camerawork to make the film as powerful as it is. The supporting cast is also strong--in particular, Callie Thorne, who perfectly captures the half narrow-minded mentality of a suburban wife. The ending of the film is supremely disturbing, as is the film overall, which is McCann's intent. A superior piece of work; highly recommended.  for more information click here Almost 4 stars This is the story about two people who are forced to deal with the onset of mental illness. Jackson and his fiancee are planning their wedding. As this happy event nears, Jackson begins to show the signs of paranoid schizophrenia. First he believes his colleagues are out to get him-- moving things around on his desk, watching him, using him as a guinea pig (his words, not mine). Since he's in advertising, someone sends him a computer file of the new advertising campaign for a perfume, Revolution No. 9. Jackson believes there are messages in the commercial that are specifically targeting him. From there, he gets worse. He loses his job, he can't keep his apartment clean, he looks worse for wear. Jackson tries to drag his fiancee into his delusions and begins to distrust her, as well. She tries to get him help, but it's very difficult to get help when the would-be patient cannot even understand he's ill. Some of the laws designed to help the mentally ill really wind up hurting them, instead. This is an interesting movie with a horribly poor title. The title and the box-- and the way it's recommended on Amazon-- are a bit misleading. To me, this appears to be a little science fiction movie-- is the man going insane or is there truly a conspiracy against him. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is NOT what this movie is about-- despite the other reviewer's misleading question ". . .or is he?" This movie is strictly about what happens when two people who love eachother have to face the onset of incapacitating mental illness. The resolution of the movie isn't very good-- not because it's not a "happy" ending, but because it ends abruptly at the climax with no denouement. Additionally, it would have been helpful to understand why the father didn't want anything to do with his son since we were under the impression that Jackson had no delusional episodes prior to this first one. The cast was wonderful-- subtle and authentic. The brief scene with the patient "advocate" was sadly ironic and one wonders how some of these people can sleep at night. All in all, a pretty good movie that would have benefited from a different title and different box art. Although you can't judge a book or film by the cover, the cover and title here may make one believe this is a low budget science fiction film (nothing wrong with this), but really, it's a serious indie film with a lot of heart.  for more information click here reviews: page 1, 2 products you might be interested in   search for videos revolution      toavi.com    web randomly chosen book: Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly