Underrated Movies - Wicker Park (2004)

Director:Paul McGuigan
Writers: Gilles Mimouni (film L'Appartement), Brandon Boyce (screenplay)
Stars: Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger and Matthew Lillard

After Matthew's (Josh Hartnett) girlfriend, Lisa (Diane Kruger) seems to disappear without a trace, he moves on with his life and becomes a successful advertising agent with a beautiful fiancee. Two years later, things seems to be going fine until he thinks he spots Lisa at a restaurant, which leads him to put his life on hold to finally find his long-lost love. As he begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together it leads him down a path of mystery and obsession all in his old neighborhood of Wicker Park.  

Dammit Josh! Put the paper down!

Something funny happened the other night, I was brushing my teeth, and for some reason, I thought about this movie and how much I loved it. I made a mental note to see if it was on Netflix. Turns out, I didn't have to, this past weekend, I discovered I had all the HBO channels as a special promotion to try to get me to buy all the HBO channels.  Low and behold, I spotted this movie in the line-up. I'm psychic or something I swear! I re-visited it and it turns out, I love it even more than I already did! 

Ooooh... heeeeeey Diane Kruger. How you doin'?

What makes this movie so fucking good is how subtle it is. Little things happen in the beginning of the movie, little things you really don't think anything about. Later on, you realize how important these things are to the actual story. The problem is, Wicker Park has been a victim of it's time. It came out in 2004, kinda the beginning of the digital age. I feel like this movie is lost on people of the present, and it makes me sad. 

I see we're going for the "Pale Tammy Faye" look.

After I watched the movie this last time, I did a little research (Despite what you may think, yes, I actually do research before I blog here!) I noticed that a lot of reviews were initially negative. Many critics hailed the movie as unbelievable, with a plot that has too many coincidences to really be taken seriously. Some people say the entire story of the movie could have been solved with one email or text message. THIS in essence is what wrong with Wicker Park, 

Damn Rose Byrne, you've come a LOOOONG way since 2004

Wicket Park is an intelligent. romantic-thriller. It's not one of these movies you can watch while writing a Facebook post or Twitting. The movie demands your attention. Keep in mind this movie is a remake of the 1996 French film, L'Appartement. In 1996, we hadn't come very far with technology, not as far as we had in 2004. I've never seen the original film for which Wicker Park is based, but according to many reviews, the director stayed extremely true to the original plot. While L'Appartement is regarded as a masterpiece, Wicker Park is generally shit on. I feel like the American audience couldn't respond the intricate, well-built plot. Many reviews on IMDB said this movie was too hard to follow. In this current world of Michael Bay shittaculars and reality TV, audiences are too used to having plots laid out for them. This is why Wicker Park has not survived the test of time. 

"It's cold out here... but you know what's warm? MY DIIAAACK!" 

Now, lets actually talk about the movie itself. I can see where people could possibly get confused with the timeline, however, I watched this when I was a high-school freshman and followed it perfectly. The first half of the movie follows Matthew, who seems to have his life together. He has a fiancee and an amazing job in advertisement. At a business lunch, Matthew thinks he's caught a glimpse of his former girlfriend, Lisa, who virtually disappeared two years earlier. He pretty much puts his life on hold to track her down and find out what really happened. 

Get some blinds! Curtains! Something! Pervs!

As Matthew continues investigating, he has flashbacks to two years ago when he was a photographer and dating the beautiful dancer, Lisa. Their relationship gets serious, and soon Matthew asks Lisa to move in with him, She doesn't give him an answer, but promises to meet him the next day. When she doesn't show up, Matthew learns that Lisa has ran off to join a dance troupe in Europe without any explanation. Thinking he scared Lisa away, a brokenhearted Matthew moves on with his life. 

You're hair is stupid.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

"You're a psycho-bitch-whore aren't you?"

Half-way through the film, it's revealed that both Matthew and Lisa have been manipulated by Alex, Lisa's best friend who's desperately in-love with Matthew. We then get to see the story from Alex's perspective and how she has continuously done her absolute best to fuck up everyone's Christmas. It's revealed that Alex has been the one who has kept the two lovers a part out because of her jealousy of Lisa and her obsession with Matthew. In the end, all the pieces of the puzzle come together and we, as an audience are like "Oooooh! That's what that was! That's why that happened!" It's through Alex's point of view and flashbacks we learn the true story of what's really been happening in Wicker Park. 

"Look, I'm secretly jealous of you and been keeping you from love. We're still BFFs right?"

The acting in this movie is very well done. Josh Hartnett is great. Desperation and determination are emotions Mr. Hartnett does well. Diane Kruget is good too, she's not in it a lot, but the parts she's in are memorable enough. Matthew Lillard plays his typical Matthew Lillard role. The good-time guy who loves women and sex. It's Rose Byrne's who really steals the show. She's only in half the movie, but her portrayal of a homely Alex, a desperate, obsessive, pathological liar and psychopath is definitely the stand-out performance of this movie. 

Get this girl a drink... and a strait-jacket.

Every actor does a superb job. Each scene is done with incredible emotion from all parties. Instead of relying on email or cell phones to move the audience through the plot, we rely on the character's emotions and wit. The plot unfolds beautifully and a lot of it has to do with the stand-up acting. 

Wicker Park? More like WINTER Park! HEEEYOOO! I'll show myself out.

The style of the movie is very artsy, reflecting the neighborhood of Wicker Park itself. I really enjoyed the artsy aspect of the film, though I can see how some would think it was trying too hard. It saddens me that this film will always be seen as a flop. Another American re-make of a foreign film gone wrong. I feel like it's not given a fair chance, but whatever, I still love it. Check it out, that is, if you can stay away from your smart phone for a couple of hours.