STRANGER BY THE LAKE: All quiet on the cruising grounds

      Stranger by the Lake is a quiet and ominous psychosexual thriller that takes place on a sunny beach shore. The improbable, serene setting is a cruising spot for men; a tucked away gem hidden far away from mainstream society. The first half of this alluring and highly graphic tale concerns a young man’s search for sex, friendship, and a love interest. The central character, Franck, spends his entire summer days at the cruising area. His actions are repetitive; he gives a friendly kiss to a known acquaintance, undresses, basks in the sun, and then prowls with a deceptive twinkle of innocence.

       When Franck goes swimming, the camera cuts to his point-of-view; from a distance, he peers around the lakeside and seeks a connection with one of the men. His eyes stop at an unattractive older man, Henri, who is sitting by the rocks, far from the other naked locals. The camera cuts between a master shot of Franck swimming and his POV steadily moving towards Henri. Alfred Hitchcock used a similar shot in Psycho, which immerses the viewer into the character’s perspective.

      Young Franck forms a nonsexual friendship with Henri. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a burly, attractive man, Michel. At sundown, when everyone leaves the lake area, Franck sees Michel with another man in the water, and the situation escalates to a violent end. He doesn’t say a word. Curiosity and lust paralyze his skewed reality.

      The entire film takes places at the lakeside, portraying a small handful of characters. As the day passes, the director films the exteriors in wide shots—the parking area, the woods, the beach, the lake—the juxtaposition of the various surroundings create a unique spatial continuity. The exterior shots are filmed at different times of the day, which cleverly shows the passage of time. Scenes of heavy dialogue are primarily filmed in a single shot, and most of the time, the characters are fully naked, which lends an authenticity to the atmosphere. Stranger by the Lake doesn’t have a score and doesn’t need one. The use of natural sounds—the wind blowing against the woods, the breeze over the water, footsteps shuffling through the forest—expresses an improbable connection between the quiet beauty of the location and the murder that occurs there.

       Although the film has potential to be a great erotic thriller, one that director Roman Polanski would make, the abhorrent sexual content is a bit distracting. There’s a fine line between cinematic realism and glossy pornography. The graphic sexuality is realistically portrayed; however, some of the actors are having actual sex on camera, bodily fluids and all. There’s a point where the viewer might lose focus on the brilliant stepping stones of suspense and find it hard to shake off these graphic images. I ask myself; is the flagrant sexuality fully necessary, or could the mystery be even more intriguing without the money shots? See for yourself.

*** (out of four stars)

ROBOCOP fears to deliver the goods

       The 2014 remake of Paul Verhoven’s bloody and satirical classic is, ultimately, a state-of-the-art, action dud. The new Robocop doesn’t improve nor amplify the original, and the filmmakers don’t know which direction to go: deliver a film that mythologizes the origin of Robocop, or produce a violent thrill ride? The film does neither.
      Director Jose Padilha, a newcomer to the Hollywood system, shows off his flair for glossy visuals and terrific staging, but the script won’t allow the talented filmmaker to push the Robocop reboot to an ultraviolent edge; at least not with a PG-13 rating. The writers are more concerned with developing a droll back story and unconvincing motivation. The plot spends about an hour-and-a-half of running time setting up the transformation of Robocop, which only leaves twenty-five minutes for seeing Robocop kick ass. The story is more or less the same as the original. Alex Murphy is left for dead in a car explosion, which leaves him crippled beyond recognition. His wife agrees to use her husband for an experiment at a Robot corporation, and once Murphy becomes Robocop, he turns on the corrupt government and fights for justice.
      The remake, similar to the original, conveys themes relating to humans vs. technology, and the media’s influence on violence . However, the news report scenes in the remake are as tepid and annoying as a fly buzzing in your ear. Samuel L. Jackson plays as the omnipresent newscaster, and his character’s primary purpose is to state the underlying themes, and moral and ethical views on Robocop’s stance in a corrupt society. The dogmatic news scenes are conveniently structured in the beginning, middle and end, which attempts to wrap every obvious point into a nice little bow.
      Sometimes, studio manufactured films, like the new Robocop, feel a need to use scenes that spell everything out to an audience, yet the news sequences have little dramatic or satirical value. Samuel L. Jackson’s pointless character continues to pop-up after every action sequence, which diffuses the level of suspense and intrigue. The more we tell an audience, the less likely they’ll be looking for hidden values.
      Robocop is a unique anti-hero worth exploring, and the director produces some terrific, eye-catching visuals. For instance, when Robocop’s body suit is disassembled, his remains—only Murphy’s face, a substitute brain, and the blood pumping through his glass-enclosed heart—offer a striking chill. If the script trimmed the fat—the clichéd family dynamic and Novak news scenes—and upped the mayhem, then the remake would possibly be worth recommending. The 1987 original had an edge, wit, and gore galore; while the remake is too scared to cross the line, in fear of box office distress.

 **(out of four stars)