Starring Dina Korzun, Rip Torn. (STC) 108 min. Opens Jan 27 at the Royal.
You'd think winning the American Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance last year would've earned Forty Shades of Blue more attention. Fellow faves Junebug and The Squid and the Whale
attracted far more praise but Ira Sachs' low-key domestic drama is
every bit as intelligent, involving and acutely observed in its
portrayal of family and romantic bonds cracking under pressure.
In one of a trio of superb performances, Rip Torn plays Alan
James, a legendary Memphis record producer who enjoys the wealth and
esteem his talents have brought him. Yet he's blind to the needs of
Laura (Dina Korzun), a beautiful Russian émigré with whom he has a
young son. The arrival of Alan's grown son Michael (Darren E. Burrows)
makes Laura's life less lonely but the attraction upsets already
precarious relationships.
A native of Memphis, Sachs nails Alan's easy-going music-biz
milieu and fills the film with great soul songs that express more than
the characters could ever dare to. Best of all is Korzun, a Russian
star who made her western debut in Pawel Pawlikowski's
Last Resort.
She brings a wrenching pathos to the initially icy Laura, who tries
with increasing desperation to keep her heart from breaking. Given the
tragic nature of Sachs' precise, graceful film, that's a tall order.