BY JENNI STOKES
01/27/10 - 10:26 AM
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER SOOS
Imagine my dismay when I realized Twilight's Bella Swan herself was the lead role in a film about a stripper. Great! The perfect role to scream to the world "Kristen Stewart is the girl your mom warned you about!"
Welcome to the Rileys follows couple Doug and Lois, trying to deal with the death of their daughter, who was killed eight years earlier.
Lois (Melissa Leo) struggles, hiding from the world, while Doug (James Gandolfini) has an affair with a waitress. And in comes the foul-mouthed, underage hooker Mallory (Stewart) to save the day.
Doug meets Mallory in a New Orleans strip joint, but doesn't want any of her under-age lovin'. Instead, he just needs a place to stay, so he can get his life back in order. He offers Mallory $100 dollars for short-term rent and moves in with her.
The relationship between Doug and Mallory is heart-warming. The connection between the two is strangely enduring and acceptable, almost letting us forget the circumstances surrounding the bizarre situation. The two have undeniable on-screen chemistry that sparks in each scene.
The movie takes some unexpected turns, but for the most part is predictable. The subject matter of the movie is dark, but presented in an easy-to-digest manner. The script has potential, but the actors make the film a living, breathing story – complete with a beating heart.
Gandolfini gives his usual top-notch performance and Leo brings the raw and emotive Lois to life — desperate for her husband to come home and struggling to fill the empty void in her life. Her grief-stricken mother caught in a tornado of guilt and sadness is easy to get swept up in.
And I better give credit where it’s due: this movie wouldn't be half as good without Stewart. She injects an attitude into a young girl with a dark history, hiding the pain behind f-bombs and a lack of clothing. Not a stitch of Kristen or Bella in the role, she is 100 percent Mallory. Stewart gave everything and it shows.
Altogether, the film was so-so, but it was the perfect opportunity for Stewart to throw away her Twilight image, and she pulled it off.
Welcome to the Rileys screens again:
Saturday, Jan. 30 at 11:30 a.m. at the Park City Raquet Club.
Welcome to the Rileys, to its credit, doesn't conform to narrative expectations. It's a drama, but a drama on the edge of utter destruction. Kristen Stewart is Allison ... or Mallory, depending on the scene (trust me, this makes sense). She's an exotic dancer in New Orleans, she meets James Gandolfini (who is on a business trip), and we're off from there.
James Gandolfini (as Doug Riley) is a damaged man. His wife, played by Melissa Leo, is a damaged woman. And of course Kristen Stewart's Allison is not exactly emotionally stable. As such, the interplay between the relationships involved is fraught with peril. It makes for an engaging, if tense, viewing experience.
On the acting front, Stewart is a live wire throughout the near two-hour running time presented here. She comes off like a rabid dog, completely unpredictable; it's easy to see why directors see so much potential in her work. She's great here. Gandolfini is also excellent, he continues to pick tremendous scripts (his work in In the Loop was also exceptional).
The intriguing part about Welcome to the Rileys is the innovation level of the story itself. It's not about New Orleans, it's not about strippers, it's not about any one thing in particular, though the broad themes of personal responsibility, grief, and trust are certainly broached. Each scene involves heavy doses of dialogue, but heavy doses of silence and body language, too. It's a patient and deliberate effort out of director Jake Scott and it portends well for his career. Mr. Scott clearly has a deft touch, something that will serve him well should he choose to continue in the genre of indie/dramatic work.
My only knock on Welcome to the Rileys? It's probably too subtle a work to really stick with viewers. The dialogue and settings are so natural that they don't lodge in your memory for long afterward. But you could do far worse. See it for Stewart's electric performance, Galdolfini's papa bear strength, or to scout an up-and-coming director in Jake Scott. If it makes it to a theater near you, give Welcome to the Rileys a few hours of your life. We'll meet back here to discuss.
Grade: B
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