Skewers the world of contemporary art in a way that's insightful and funny without becoming a broad parody.
(Untitled) (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:25
Rotten:11
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: This satire on the art world is at times both clever and shallow, but its top-notch cast generates plenty of goodwill.
Synopsis:
From the creators of Bartleby comes a fresh new satire poking fun of the nuanced world of the New York contemporary art scene through a pair of competitive brothers – eclectic and self-important...
From the creators of Bartleby comes a fresh new satire poking fun of the nuanced world of the New York contemporary art scene through a pair of competitive brothers – eclectic and self-important music composer Adrian (Adam Goldberg) and commercially successful painter Josh (Eion Bailey).
When Chelsea art ‘gallerina’ and Josh’s love interest Madeline (Marley Shelton) attends Adrian’s concert – featuring the sounds of paper-crumpling, glass-breaking and bucket-kicking – she commissions him for a gallery performance and a love affair ensues.
Further complicating the situation is that Josh’s highly commercial art work – the financial backbone of the gallery – is sold to corporate clients discreetly out of the gallery’s back room.
(Untitled) is directed by Jonathan Parker who co-wrote the screenplay with Catherine di Napoli both of whom produced the film with Andreas Olavarria. Executive producers are Adam Goldberg and Matt Luber. The award-winning production team includes Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang, Oscar winning sound designer Richard Beggs and Oscar nominated production designer David Snyder. The cast features Goldberg (2 DAYS IN PARIS), Shelton (GRINDHOUSE), Bailey (BAND OF BROTHERS) and Vinnie Jones (SNATCH). (UNTITLED) was an official selection at the 2009 Palm Springs Film Festival and the 2009 San Francisco Film Festival. --© Samuel Goldwyn
Starring: Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Eion Bailey, Lucy Punch
Starring: Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Eion Bailey, Lucy Punch, Vinnie Jones, Zak Orth, Ptolemy Slocum, Michael Panes, Svetlana Efremova, Marceleine Hugot
Director: Jonathan Parker
Director: Jonathan Parker
Screenwriter: Jonathan Parker, Catherine di Napoli
Producer: Catherine di Napoli, Andreas Olavarria
Composer: David Lang
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Reviews for (Untitled)
The characters...are wrapped up in their own perceptions of their greatness and are an odious lot. This is fitting for the film but leaves the viewer without a character to like.
The impenetrable gallery jargon is quite funny at first, and the brothers' twisted relationship is set up nicely, but the movie errs when it takes itself seriously.
(Untitled) asks a lot of intriguing questions -- more intriguing than the film itself.
A serious comedy in which the assorted players - a couple of artists, some gallerists, and the people who attend (or don’t attend) their shows - discuss what art is, what it should aspire to be, and what kind of people collect, exhibit, and consider it.
Woody Allen might have passed on making this film 35 years ago because it was too dated and middlebrow.
Art School Confidential goes for its doctorate in Jonathan Parker's bitchy, hilarious (Untitled), the story of two pretentious brothers jealously jousting with each other in the dog-eat-dog world of fine-art cred.
The performances here are all stellar, and narrative movies that take the making of art seriously are a rare breed indeed.
Those who don't know art but who know what they like are likely to come away from "(Untitled)" thinking "Gee, I could have done that."
It's a testament to the movie's keen script that, until a disjointed final act, we're able to both laugh at these characters and sympathize with them.
It doesn't have a hero who's right and everyone else is wrong. And though it mocks every character, it dismisses nobody. It makes a case for every point of view, including those the filmmakers don't share.
(Untitled) is a comedy worthy of the best Woody Allen, and Adrian is not unlike Woody's persona: a sincere, intense, insecure nebbish, hopeless with women, aiming for greatness.
With the use of Sahara dry satirical wit and subtle, whip-smart mockery, (Untitled) sends up the pretension of the art world with love.
Egos, etiquette, and envy go a long way in this atypical comedy of manners.
The rare picture nowadays that takes satiric aim at the pomposity of the world of high art and hits the target, even if the blows are more often than not only glancing ones.
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