Wie ich zum ersten Mal Selbstmord beging (1997)

Wie ich zum ersten Mal Selbstmord beging: Directed by Stephen Kay. With Thomas Jane, Keanu Reeves, Adrien Brody, John Doe. In 1946 Denver, an aspiring writer who enjoys irresponsible adventures with his friend, writes a letter about his life before and after the suicide attempt by his sad girlfriend who wants a commitment.

“You know, normally when you have a good script and excellentu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eactors on your project, you can turn out something decent, good oru003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003egreat…even when you, as the director, believe youu0026#39;re talented andu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ethink you know what youu0026#39;re doing. But so far as u0026quot;The Last Time Iu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCommitted Suicideu0026quot; is concerned, Stephen T. Kay flat out ruinedu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ethis movie, and it is damn near unforgivable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHere we have a screenplay filled with some of the most wonderfulu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003edialog you can imagine being delivered by a troupe of wonderfulu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eactors. Thomas Jane gives a star making turn as Neal Cassady,u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eand he is backed up with a startlingly naturalistic and cozy turn byu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKeanu Reeves as his drunk buddy, Harry. But could you enjoy theu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ebeautiful rhythm of their work? Noooooooooo. By God, Mr. Kayu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ewas going to remind you every step of the way that he isu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDIRECTING this film and you are going to pay attention to that fact,u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ecome hell or high water.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI mean, here we have a quiet intense drama about a charismaticu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eman who inspired people like Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg,u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eand the director uses every trick in u0026quot;The MTV Bible of Pseudou003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFilmographyu0026quot; to hide that fact and (supposedly) make it palatableu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003efor the ADD generation. You got your jump cuts and edits every .9u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eseconds and odd angles and pretty inserts and on and on and onu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003euntil I finally wanted to scream at the screen, u0026quot;Take a F*****Gu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003evalium!u0026quot; Drama has to unfold; it cannot be force fed down youru003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003egullet because the man making the movie thinks youu0026#39;re too easilyu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003edistracted to give a damn about the characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;ve only seen one other movie where the director completelyu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003edestroyed a wonderful script — u0026quot;A Chorus of Disapprovalu0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(although if u0026quot;While You Were Sleepingu0026quot; had had any other actressu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ein the lead besides Sandra Bullock, it would also fit in this cursedu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ecategory).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo…if you like your drama spit out in food fight fashion, then this isu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ethe movie for you. But if you want anything approaching reality,u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003echeck out something like u0026quot;La Dolce Vitau0026quot; by Federico Fellini, whou003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ehas more style in his right pinkie than in all of Stephen T. Kayu0026#39;su003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ebody.”