Hello all! Today I will be reviewing "Cold Souls," starring Paul Giamatti. I know it's supposed to be a horror/action day, but I figured I'd mix things up a bit since I've been reviewing a lot of horror and action films lately.
"Cold Souls" is a film about a company that extracts and stores people's souls. Paul Giamatti plays himself as an actor that can't seem to separate himself from his character, so he decides to use this seemingly unorthodox service. Things get out of hand when Giamatti finds out that there's a black market for souls, and his is stolen and put on the market. It then becomes a wild goose chase to find and return Giamatti's soul to his body.
Pros:
1. If you laughed or giggled while reading the synopsis, don't worry; I did too. I thought it was a little silly sounding at first, but this is not the flat out comedy you might think it is. It's a lot more dramatic and serious than I thought it was going to be, and I loved that about it. Paul Giamatti gives a great performance as a man who is obviously very troubled, and has no where else to go but into the safe and secure words of the soul extractor. Giamatti is an insecure, under-confident person who doesn't know what else can help him, and I honestly believed that he would buy into and try a soul extraction, however unbelievable it might sound. Once his soul is gone, he takes on a whole new persona: he is hollow, empty and devoid of that "spark" of life that is essential to everyone's personality. He is the closest thing I can think of to someone without a soul (if there is such a thing).
2. The story, although farfetched and maybe a little silly, had a lot of heart and weighed heavy on my mind long after I watched the movie. I'm not one to believe in such a thing as a "soul," but after watching this film I began to wonder what would happen if they were real, and what would happen if you decided to get rid of it, sell it, or buy another person's soul. In the film, Giamatti uses a Russian poet's soul in place of his own when his gets stolen, and he becomes almost a different person. Would this happen if you inserted someone else's soul into you? Is your soul connected to your experiences, your brain, and your memories? It is a very introspective film, and really makes you think about what makes up your personality and your physical and emotional being.
3. The fact that Giamatti plays himself in the film is both refreshing and an interesting change from his usual roles. He's basically famous for playing a smarmy business man, or just a plain bad guy. This film shows his true potential to play a multi-layered, complicated character who is really trying to find out who he really is. There was a substance to him, a human-ness to him, that you don't get from every character in every movie. Playing yourself may be seen as a cop out to some, but to me it offers a window into the life of someone real, someone worth watching.
Cons:
1. The actress who plays the soul-carrier, the mule if you will, wasn't all that great. And it could just be because Giamatti out-acted pretty much everyone in the film; but even so, her character was good, but the way she presented it wasn't up to par for how awesome the movie was.
2. As amazing a job as Giamatti did, it seemed very much like a self serving film. No other character had the same level of importance as Giamatti, even though many characters were essential to the story. It would have been nice to see the director (or even Giamatti) care about someone other than himself. I know it's a story about his self discovery, but he shouldn't be the only important character in the story.
This movie really surprised me in more ways than one. Giamatti has confirmed his spot in my top list of favorite actors, and no story will ever be turned down by me, no matter how crazy it might sound. Charm and heart can come from any story, even the silly ones. Four stars for you, "Cold Souls"! Thanks for reading!
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