Rage: Sally Potter Does it Again!

"SALLY POTTER’S “RAGE” NOMINATED FOR BEST DRAMA
IN THE 14th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS "

This is wonderful news.  Rage is a film with little action but there is something so riveting about the performance of several characters talking into the screen, telling their story, one actor at a time.

The technique is similar to Louis Malle's My Dinner With Andre
and the result is as memorable.

It was a rainy day at the library when I sat down to watch this film   I thought I would see some at the library and the rest at home but that didn't happen.  I sat in that uncomfortable wooden chair from beginning to end and later when I reviewed the film with a wealth of accolades I was told by a seasoned reviewer, Jeffrey Lions  that he didn't like it.  Not enough action.

Well, it was enough action for me and for the Webby Awards.  And hopefully it will be enough action for you as well.

The star-studded line-up of actors includes Jude Law, Judi Dench, Dianne Wiest, John Leguizamo, Simon Abkarian and Steve Buscemi,

See it on DVD or watch for it in theaters.  It might enjoy a return showing

Linda Zises
WBAI RAdio
Criticalwomen.net

Repost of original review

Rage Sally Potter DVD

RAGE
Sally Potter Director/Writer (Orlando, 1992)

A young blogger at a New York fashion house shoots behind-the-scenes interviews on his cell-phone. In viewing the footage the audience is confronted with the process of marketing products, the brutal rise to the top in a sucessful company, and the use of perfumes to hide us from ourselves.

Commentary:
From the moment the film started I knew it was written by a woman because I identified with the method of writing, the typing, going back and forth to correct what was put up on the screen. This process drew me into the film and its theme of public versus private; of being famous and being invisible was a profound message. This is such a woman's issue, wanting to be seen, to be sexy and attractive while simultaneously wanting to be Invisible, to be "safe".

I loved the peeling of the onion layers approach to the plot, the change in the characters to reveal not the "I" but the "me" as they confront a moment of trauma, of inevitable reality with the death of one of their own.

I felt drawn to the story, the frightening look at fashion, at manipulation of words to promote a scent. A scent, a perfume for children! Is there nothing sacred, nothing pure, nothing of worth left now that the Internet captures the moment formerly private and sends it out into the Universe of the unknown.

I am not a script writer nor a film director but if I were I would want to have created this film.

Rage: As a film it works. As a live drama on Broadway it will also be tauted as great.

Linda Zises
WBAI Women's Collective