Roger
Dodger 85
All hail Campbell Scott. Me love him long time. Thinking back,
this is probably my favorite performance of his. He plays Roger,
a hyperarticulate, predatory jerk who waxes poetic about the fine
art of seduction. Then his nephew who happens to be a virgin shows
up in town, and it's time for Roger to do some teachin.'
Of
course, you know where this is going. Virgin Nephew gets the ladies.
Roger gets his comeuppance. Yeah, yeah, we get it. And it doesn't
matter. The script, in all its misogynistic glory, is compelling
and acerbic and really, really funny. The director had a cool
shooting style, too. Most scenes were shot through a crowd, from
behind some architecture, in the dark or extremely close-up. A
little unsettling. Really interesting. I didn't love the last
20 minutes or so, but when do I ever? The unforced ending is a
lost art.
Oh,
and Virgin Nephew? He's played by Hallie Eisenberg's brother,
and you won't even hate him.