It took me a while to figure out this film, but after the first few minutes, I settled in to enjoy. It’s purposely frustrating to watch; my friends and I made some “movies” in high school (that makes me an expert in film, you know) so the premise of Living in Oblivion was not completely lost on me.
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire, Sopranos) plays Nick, a filmmaker struggling to complete a movie despite constant setbacks with the crew, the location, and with himself. Living in Oblivion takes place during one day of filming – but this day also includes three separate stories about this same day, and the message about whose story this really is gets blurred with the hopes and dreams of the cast. The star actress is Nicole, played by Catherine Keener (Death to Smoochy, Where the Wild Things Are), who has her own struggle with her career, trying to shake off her “shower scene in Richard Gere movies” reputation.
The movie we are watching is an exploration on filmmaking, extrapolating these frustrations into a dream world. The first parts are, consecutively, the dreams of Nick and Nicole, while the third and final “real” scene of their Living in Oblivion movie is an intentional dream sequence, complete with spooky fog machine and top-hatted dwarf.
Despite this, there is some linear continuity between the what happens to the cast, telling the audience what is truly important and real: a script which Nick writes exploring his love for Nicole is actually Nicole’s own dream, possibly exploring her feelings for Nick. We see the evolution of cameraman Wolf from an artsy cinematographer to a man whose life is comically falling apart – just as the film shoot is falling apart for Nick.
While I started out watching this film just to complete my Peter Dinklage checklist, I actually really enjoyed Living in Oblivion. Maybe I’m a real creeper for noticing, but Catherine Keener has hairy pits in this movie. It didn’t bother me, but it definitely jumped out. I don’t know if this was an added touch for Nicole’s character or if Keener always goes around unshaved. Either way, I liked it. Nick’s frustration with the process of making an independent film and subsequent meltdowns were total perfection. Dinklage’s performance as Tito the dwarf was his film debut, and during his all-too-brief part, absolutely trashes the “Little people are surreal” trope.
If you are a fan of independent film, if you make low-budget movies or if you just like the odd quirky flick, check out Living in Oblivion by writer-director Tom DiCillo.
