Laurel Canyon (2002)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 110
Fresh: 75 | Rotten: 35
Though the movie itself is flawed, McDormand is fantastic as Jane.
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 11
Though the movie itself is flawed, McDormand is fantastic as Jane.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 8,918
Movie Info
Writer/director Lisa Cholodenko follows up her much-acclaimed 1997 debut High Art with this examination of a young couple seduced into a hedonistic, left-coast lifestyle. Taking its title from its central locale, Laurel Canyon focuses on a pair of upper-middle class lovebirds from the East Coast who relocate to Los Angeles. Freshly minted from Harvard, Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are eager to continue their medical studies out West, but they need some lodging while they hunt
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Cast
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Frances McDormand
Jane -
Christian Bale
Sam -
Kate Beckinsale
Alex -
Natascha McElhone
Sara -
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Laurel Canyon Trailer & Photos
All Critics (121) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (35) | DVD (19)
The movie's contrivances begin to rankle.
Top CriticAn immediate guilty pleasure.
Fizzles out in the third act, but we're long past caring. By then, Frances McDormand has usurped the movie and turned it into a lesson in character acting.
Self-discovery seems to be the goal, but the revelations hardly seem worth the work.
McDormand is superb. Likewise Bale and Nivola.
If there is one reason to see Laurel Canyon, it's to witness McDormand in the kind of role she's long deserved.
It's a story about how people get seduced by Los Angeles. That still happens, you know.
As a follow up to High Art, this melodrama is not as good or provocative as Cholodenko's debut. Even so, the film deals with female (lesbian) sexuality and as such deserves recognition.
It pulled me in with its friendly, inclusive, nonjudgmental appraisal of human nature.
Despite a great ensemble of actors, it will leave you hanging from a cliff.
'We're left with a film that doesn't create enough interest in what went on in those Laurel Canyon backyards to justify pulling over and watching.'
No matter how many times she pushes her specs up her nose Beckinsale is never going to be believable as a nerd. Bale as a psychiatrist: it's easier to envisage him as Batman.
Frances McDormand lets loose in a terrific new role as record producer, mother, and corrupter of curious girls.
'Laurel Canyon' is a little dangerous, a bit unconventional and very seductive.
...essentially worth checking out if only for the performances and Cholodenko's admittedly steady directorial hand.
Real people, real situations. Laurel Canyon is a keeper.
McElhone and Bale are more overt, acting mostly with rigid faces, tousled hair and at least 64 shiny, well-displayed teeth.
From the choice of L.A.'s musical bohemia to finding the right tension in each scene, director Lisa Cholodenko has hit another home run.
With vocal inflections and a caring glance, McDormand rescues the mother-son dynamic that twists through Canyon like the famed Mulholland Drive.
Interesting and distinctive but held back from greatness by forcing complex characters through tidy character arcs.
An enjoyable little film about fidelity and intimacy among different generations. Worth seeing just for McDormand's performance.
Laurel Canyon telegraphs far too much of its unoriginal story to genuinely hold our interest. We find ourselves wishing we could leave these characters nattering in the living room and wander around the house looking at the souvenirs and photographs. We'r
How far can you follow the psychosexual exploits of folks you aren't all that drawn to in the first place?
Cholodenko has made a huge mistake in casting Bale and Beckinsale as her leads. While their blandness seems to be appropriate for the characters they're played, neither is very interesting.
By the time Laurel Canyon closes, we're left with a number of dangling subplots, lots of questions and two hideously unbelievable reconciliations.
Just when you thought the "La-La Land" cliche ... had been done to death, along comes the indie-film variation in Laurel Canyon.
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Movie: ID: 13908 Title: Laurel Canyon Release Date: 2003-03-07 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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Reminded me a little of Beatty and Ashby's Shampoo.
I dug the establishing aerial sequence.