Joel Schumacher
Flawless

I approached "Flawless" not because of its director, but rather due to the presence of two actors like Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman, convinced that such big names could transcend the criticisms that old Schumacher has always faced.

Indeed, "Flawless" turns out to be an actors' film, although the filmmaker also manages to inject his messages. The two main characters are neighbors who hate each other: Walt (De Niro) and Rusty (Hoffman) are a retired ex-cop and a "drag queen," a gay man specialized in the art of singing, respectively. From the very beginning, there emerges a picture of mutual hatred between Walt and all the homosexuals who frequent the building where he lives. The day comes when Walt suffers a stroke that paralyzes the right side of his body: he has difficulty walking and speaking, and this new condition plunges him into a state of depression and self-pity. He is advised to take singing lessons to improve the expressive difficulty with his mouth. He then decides to seek help from Rusty, the last person he would have asked for help...

The film presents itself without particular thematic complexities: Schumacher attempts to analyze the relationship between two completely different people, yet much more similar than they themselves imagined. They are both men in difficulty, struggling to relate: Rusty is continually insulted for his homosexual condition, while Walt fears for his social life and fears that his relationships with women seem not to be what they once were due to his problem. In "Flawless", prejudices are broken down, with the vision that people are not so much as they appear but rather as they behave. The message and the teaching of Schumacher's film are therefore to be appreciated, as well as the general setup of the movie which moves between the interiors of a rundown motel and the smoky and icy exteriors of the city. Yet not everything is exactly in place: while the bond established between Walt and Rusty appears genuine, as real is the chemistry between the two actors, the surrounding characters are not up to par. The two protagonists move among gays who are overly stereotyped and banal or among simple-minded and potbellied policemen who seem out of place.

Ultimately, however, "Flawless" remains a watchable film, with two actors in top form and an "ensemble" not up to the level of the two protagonists. A film that manages to be ironic and irreverent while being adequately reflective.

"Life's a bitch, and it made me one too, darling."