Francis Ford Coppola made his name as a director with the great but decidedly non-SFF Godfather movies, as well as The Conversation (also non-SFF, but has lots of awesome early 70s audio equipment) and Apocalypse Now (which, if you read its surrealism in a very generous light, almost is). Since then, he’s periodically explored fantasy themes in his movies, in unconventional ways, such as the body-switching in Peggy Sue Got Married or the metaphorical (and harrowing) existential dilemma faced by Robin Williams in Jack. Then, of course, there was his Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was a great deal of fun and might to this day be the greatest movie ever made by a completely and certifiably insane person. All of this — from the extremely variable quality of the above-mentioned movies to the pervasive interest in fantasy — brings us to his very strange new film Twixt.
Coppola reportedly plans to exhibit Twixt as a road show, re-editing the movie after every screening based on audience reaction, which would be strange enough if this didn’t already involve Val Kilmer in a ponytail as “the bargain-basement Stephen King,” Elle Fanning as some supernaturally pale person, and Ben Chaplin looking exactly like Edgar Allan Poe (though it’s unclear whether he’s just literally or metaphorically that). And Bruce Dern in his zillionth role as a creepy midwestern or southern guy, this time as a sheriff who wants to co-write a book with Val Kilmer about a serial killer.
Your guess is as good as mine as to just what this thing actually is, but it sure does look gorgeous. Anyone who’s into really well-photographed, really strange movies (present!) should keep an eye peeled for this one.
Danny Bowes is a playwright, filmmaker and blogger. He is also a contributor to nytheatre.com and Premiere.com.
