Reviews

No real spoilers.

Tradition is a Temple is a loving, reverential exploration of the tradition of New Orleans jazz music, with an emphasis on family and community and history and tradition and joy and love. The structure of the film offers separate, distinct sections, each addressing a theme. The transitions between sections involve original poetry written by a NOLA poet and performed over visuals that support or enhance the spoken words. It's something new, done quite well, and is a real treat. My favorite was the poem about street names.

In a section that addresses the present and future of Jazz in New Orleans, we see a lovely sequence involving a boy drummer and his teacher. The boy plays beautifully, learning a new bit, and when he finishes playing, he bursts into tears. My initial response was "oh no!" and I wanted the film to cut away, to leave this boy alone. Instead we stay in the room with them as the teacher gives his talented friend the benefit of the perspective that comes with time. It's gorgeous for its emotional generosity and hope.

The amazing and talented Mr. Shannon Powell says at one point during the film that he hopes he will be remembered after he is gone. I did not know him or his music before this movie, but I can honestly say, "I will remember you, Mr. Powell."

By far Billy Baldwin's best work, Angela Jones shines in this quirky dark comedy expanded from a film school thesis short. In a movie world that exists just a few degrees of deviation from our own world, Reb Braddock has lovingly crafted a dangerous innocent - Gabriella, who is so fascinated by violent crime that she takes a job as a maid for the Post-Forensic Cleaning Service.

The only true flaw in this film is the 'question' that Gabriella so sweetly seeks an answer to, but the fantastic soundtrack and hauntingly choreographed 'final dance' make it all worthwhile.

This coming-of-age story makes a fairly good transition from novel to screen. I was most pleased with the cast, as the actors looked the same as the characters had looked to me when I first read the book. Lucas Black as Jimmy Blevins truly shines, as does Henry Thomas as Lacey Rawlins. For fans of the book: all the core, essential scenes are there, but some of the heart and some of the spirit are trimmed for the sake of brevity. Bonus points to Thornton for trying to maintain a sense of the mystical in John Grady Cole's transition to manhood. My only complaint is that it ended too soon - the final scene should not have been cut.

Leon was fantastic as always, this time playing Little Richard in his early years. The movie showed a fully fleshed out Little Richard without neglecting to fill the show with lots of great music. My only complaint is that the ending was a little abrupt - I was hoping for a 2-parter!

Gorgeous, sexy film in which Matt Damon turns in an amazing, disturbingly appealing performance as Tom Ripley, latter day identity thief. Perfectly cast, exquisitely performed, I found myself rooting for everyone (except the positively horrid Freddy, as played by Philip Seymore Hoffman).