Taglines: On the road to the perfect life, Sam & Alex took a little detour.
Writer / director Lisa Cholodenko follows up her much-acclaimed 1997 debut High Art with this examination of a young couple seduced into a hedonistic, left-coast lifestyle. Taking its title from its central locale, Laurel Canyon focuses on a pair of upper-middle class lovebirds from the East Coast who relocate to Los Angeles. Freshly minted from Harvard, Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are eager to continue their medical studies out West, but they need some lodging while they hunt for a home.
Enter Jane (Frances McDormand), Sam’s estranged, Age-of-Aquarius mom, who’s more than willing to put the couple up in her lavish digs. Jane is a successful record producer whose latest charge — both in the studio and in her bedroom — is Ian (Alessandro Nivola), a brazen, libidinous twentysomething Brit-rocker. As Sam and Alex settle in at Jane’s, they gradually lose their straight-and-narrow approach to life and begin to experiment. Alex takes to Ian and Jane, while Sam is wooed by co-worker Sara (Natascha McElhone).
Laurel Canyon is a 2002 American drama film written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. The film stars Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, Alessandro Nivola, Lou Barlow, Russell Pollard, Melissa De Sousa, Alexandra Carter and Catherine McGoohan. It features a score by Shudder to Think’s Craig Wedren; the music for Ian’s band was provided by Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous and indie-rockers Folk Implosion.
About the Story
Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are a newly engaged couple who move to Los Angeles to further their careers. Sam is a recently graduated psychiatrist, starting his residency, while Alex, who comes from a very wealthy background, is finishing her M.D.-Ph.D. dissertation on genomics. The relatively strait-laced, upwardly mobile couple plan to stay at the vacant home of Sam’s mother, Jane (Frances McDormand), a free-spirited record producer in the Laurel Canyon section of the City of Los Angeles.
In a change of plans, however, Jane is still around, recording an album with her boyfriend, Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola), and his band. The film focuses in some depth on the challenge of trying to create successful pop music, showing work on two tracks (both actually written, and previously released, by the band Sparklehorse). Ian’s bandmates are played by noted indie rockers, bassist Lou Barlow and guitarist Imaad Wasif.[citation needed]
Jane and Ian are in the midst of a fiery romance, and both the producer and the band seem more interested in partying than finishing the record. Jane’s presence is a source of consternation for Sam, as he and his mother have a somewhat strained relationship, due to their very different mindsets.
Alex, however, is intrigued by the new lifestyle options presented by her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Normally hardworking, Alex begins spending more time with the band and less time working on her dissertation. Her growing fascination with Jane and Ian leads to a scene where the three of them kiss one another while naked in the swimming pool.
Meanwhile, Sam finds himself attracted to fellow resident Sara (Natascha McElhone), who is unapologetically interested in him as well. They share one first kiss while returning from an informal interns’ meeting, around the same time Alex has her first tryst with Jane and Ian in the pool. Some time later, while Alex attends Jane and Ian’s party held in a crowded hotel suite to celebrate the band’s new album release, Sam and Sara meet in a parking lot and, in a conversation filled with sexual tension, they declare their attraction for one another.
The situation strains Sam and Alex’s relationship almost to the point of breaking by the end of the film. After the party has finished and the three of them are left alone in the suite, Ian tries to “finish” (in his words) his encounter with Alex and Jane, but the latter decides against it and the threesome does not take place.
Upon returning home after his conversation with Sara, Sam decides to go to the hotel and discovers Jane, Ian, and Alex scantily-clad in the bedroom. In a fit of rage he repeatedly punches Ian, hits his mother with the elbow as she tries to split the fight, and leaves the hotel, but Alex chases him down the street and professes her love for him.
Laurel Canyon (2003)
Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, Alessandro Nivola, Lou Barlow, Russell Pollard, Melissa De Sousa, Alexandra Carter, Catherine McGoohan
Screenplay by: Lisa Cholodenko
Production Design by: Catherine Hardwicke
Cinematography by: Wally Pfister
Film Editing by: Amy E. Duddleston
Costume Design by: Cindy Evans
Set Decoration by: Gene Serdena
Art Direction by: Stephanie Gilliam
Music by: Craig Wedren
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality, language and drug use.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: March 7, 2003
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