Welcome to the Rileys
Kevin Spacey is a genuine pro. He’s still a winner eleven years after his American Beauty triumph. Spacey has a true gift, in his ability to turn the mediocre film, Father of Invention into an enjoyable experience.
The Berlinale guests were given the chance to witness this at the premiere of the film, on Monday evening. The two-time Oscar winner plays the role of an inventor whose work has disastrous effects. When one of his inventions goes awry, he loses his wife, his livelihood and winds up in prison. Years later he sets out to make a fresh start.
Ben Stiller also competes with his new film Greenberg. Unlike Spacey, his presence is not enough to turn Noah Baumbach’s independent comedy into an entertaining film. On the contrary, Ben Stiller’s character gets more and more annoying as the film progresses.
Stiller plays a 40-year-old New Yorker who has nothing better to do than writing complaints to airlines and coffee shops, while he is taking care of his brother’s house in L.A. The script doesn’t make it easy for the star, but Stiller is far from following in Woody Allen’s footsteps, as some critics have acclaimed.
It is worthwhile mentioning the extraordinary performance of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard in A Somewhat Gentle Man, competing to win the golden bear. Similarly, US drama Welcome to the Rileys sees sterling performances from James Gandolfini and Kirsten Stewart. In the youth film section, Generation 14 Plus, young Michael Cera (the young father in Juno) is a convincing rebel, in Youth in Revolt.
Those Berlinale guests who didn’t fancy crowded cinemas, had the option to attend the glamorous Cinema for Peace gala. This event doesn’t have much in common with the festival itself, but the attendees couldn’t care less.
There on the night were; Leonardo DiCaprio, Catherine Deneuve, Liam Neeson and Heike Makatsch, to name a few. The only star not able to attend the gala, or his own film premiere, was Kevin Spacey, as he is on location in China.
Josef Guebl
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