Don't Call It a Comeback

Two guys trying to figure stuff out:

CALIFORNIA SOLO (B+) - This is a touching, sad tale of a would-be rocker approaching middle age, adrift in an adopted country where he struggles with his memories and the Big Concept of death. Filmmaker Marshall Lewy wrote this expressly for actor Robert Carlyle, who himself has been a bit at sea at times since his breakthrough role in "Trainspotting" 17 years ago. The result is a comfortable fit, a satisfying drama about Lachlan MacAldonich, a Scotsman wrestling with his dark past in sunny California.

This movie plays like a cross between "Californication" and "Greenberg" with a key difference -- here there are, thankfully, no 20-something women finding the scruffy 40-something loser irresistible. There is, however, 20-something-ish Beau, played perfectly by relative newcomer Alexia Rasmussen, who is bored with her boyfriend ("That '70s Show's" Danny Masterson in a neat turn as a fanboy slacker) and seeks out Lachlan's company. But when Beau and Lachlan do end up headed toward the same bed, it's just to platonically sleep off a night of drinking.

And grizzled Lachlan does like his alcohol. Back in the '90s, he was in a Britpop band with his brother, who was the star and frontman. But the band disintegrated after a tragedy that stranded Lachlan in Southern California and continues to haunt him. Having achieved green-card status through stasis, he now spends his days working on a farm and helping run a farmers market and his evenings in a darkened room hosting a podcast centered on discussions of the deaths of famous rock stars, like Marc Bolan and Janis Joplin.  Then a DWI arrest threatens his immigration status. Throughout, Lewy teeters on the edge of the cliched pitiful-drunk story but manages to never topple over.

Carlyle is ably supported by sharp turns from Rasmussen as well as soap star A Martinez as Lachlan's frustrated boss. The always-welcome Kathleen Wilhoite (Luke's sister on "Gilmore Girls") provides the film's fulcrum as Lachlan's exasperated ex-wife, an asterisk from the rock-star days who raises their teen daughter and now might come in handy in helping resolve his immigration issue. And a particularly sharp scene between Carlyle and Michael Des Barres, in a magnificent cameo as the band's former manager, is itself worth the price of admission.

In addition, the soundtrack is solid -- from the opening rave-up "All Over Again" by Jay Reatard to a pivotal scene's track, "Could You Stand to Know" by Violens.

It all leads to a rather bittersweet ending that is slightly too neat but ambivalent enough to make the whole exercise well worth it.

THE BIG PICTURE (B-minus) - What would it be like to be blessed with a fresh start? It might not be all you'd wished for. For one thing, no matter how light you travel, you've still got a lifetime's worth of baggage to carry with you.

In this French thriller, Paul is a lawyer in an unhappy marriage, with two lovely little boys, a neat house and a nanny. His wife is cheating on him, however, with a photographer who mocks Paul for giving up his own dream of photography and selling out as a bourgeois attorney. When Paul's wife announces she wants a divorce, an unfortunate accident occurs, and Paul grabs a fistful of euros from the office safe and flees to the Adriatic coast of Croatia.

Will he rediscover his passion for photography? Is that even possible? To reveal any more of the plot would ruin the enjoyment of the film's subtle twists and turns. We get some truly gripping scenes, but too often this all plays out rather glumly. Romain Duris ("The Beat That My Heart Skipped") plays Paul in a dull minor key, and we never quite connect with the character. It's all about as morose as the Beck song that plays over the opening credits.


Bonus Track
"Don't call it a comeback!"