WHO MADE IT? | Director: William Arntz, Betsy Chase Cast: Marlee Matlin | WHAT’S IT ABOUT? | Photographer Amanda (Matlin) is still feeling bitter and insecure after her marriage broke down when she caught her husband being unfaithful. All the memories come flooding back when she’s sent to photograph a wedding. This storyline is used as a skeleton to help the film-makers discuss the nature of existence and being. Really! | WHAT’S IT LIKE? | We all have questions about how we got here – and more fundamentally why. It’s not often that the big screen tries to offer us answers. This film is basically divided into three sections – the scientific discussion raises some tremendously intelligent and interesting talking points – the new-age, spiritualism demeans everything that’s gone before it, making a mockery of any scientific thought – and the third element, supposedly knitting the documentary together, is an embarrassingly poor narrative fictional drama, whose story bears little relevance to anything happening on screen. The documentary element features interviews with a variety of scientists, philosophers and new-age academics – the unusual part is that you’re not actually told who any of the speakers are until the end. On the one hand, that means you can take in their views without prejudice – on the other, it makes it impossible to come to any firm conclusions about the validity of the points being made. From an academic point of view, you feel initially inspired - it will make you think - but ultimately cheated. From a dramatic point of view, it’s a pointless waste of space. Overall, it feels like a Channel Five documentary and has no business being on the big screen. | Opens nationwide on 20 May 2005
