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PRESS ROOM / AFI Movie Review: 'Deja Vu'
More than one film critic has described Henry Jaglom as something of an acquired taste. Best known for his pseudo stream-of-conscious features like "Eating" and "Babyfever," Jaglom has of late, found himself treading into a more mainstream, story-driven society.
With 1995's "Last Summer in the Hamptons," Jaglom proved up to the challenge of being a true storyteller. Combining an interesting premise (a group of actors are having their final summer together at their yearly Long Island retreat) and a wealth of well-written roles, Jaglom pieced together his most compelling feature in years.
Fortunately, the filmmaker has continued his pursuit of story-driven features with a tasty little look at what makes people fall in love. "Deja Vu" (which premiered October 25 at the AFI L.A. Film Festival) follows the paths of Dana (Jaglom's real-life wife Victoria Foyt) and Sean (Stephen Dillane), two people leading very different--and attached--lives.
While on a business trip to Israel, Dana has an impromptu lunch with a compellingly sweet French woman (Aviva Marks) who tells her the story of her long, lost love of years ago. The woman still holds a pin that was given to her by her lover before he went back to America. With little fanfare, the woman departs, leaving the pin with Dana.
Knowing the jewel to be of tremendous personal value, Dana changes her travel plans to try and find the woman who left her with such a precious item. Her journey proves fruitless until she makes a stop in the English town of Dover. Walking through the beautiful village, she happens upon her unsuspecting soul mate Sean.
Though the two have never met before, there is an instant attraction that pulls them away from their rather involved lives. Rather than simply being attracted to one another, there seems to be an almost cosmic bond that is impossible to shake and which will not be ignored.
Realizing the facts of their current existences, the two decide to resist their feeling and go back to their lives. As fate would invariably have it however, the two unexpectedly find themselves staying at the English home of a mutual friend.
In tackling "Deja Vu," Jaglom revisits some familiar themesmainly the hows and whys of interpersonal relationships. However, rather than psychoanalyzing the situation to death, he lets his characters develop and deal with their impending collision with fate.
In the leads, Foyt (who also co-wrote the script with husband Jaglom) and Dillane do a very convincing job of exploring the ramifications of throwing one's life to the wind in the name of love. Foyt exudes indecision and painknowing that she needs to follow her will, but wallowing in the hurt she will no doubt cause.
With some tremendous support cast (including Vanessa Redgrave, Noel Harrison and Anna Massey), "Deja Vu" could be the film to break Jaglom out of his strictly independent world. With great performances, a well-written script and some wonderful cinematography, the film is easily one of Jaglom's most accessible. With any luck, the veteran filmmaker will finally transcend his stigma of acquired taste.