Quick and Perfect!
Added 4/2/2007
The DVD came sooner than I expected and it was in amazing condition for a used product.
2 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Tart Is One Of The Best Film's I've Seen Dominique Swain Is One Of The Best Acttress I Know, I Just Love Her.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Low-Budget Indie..
Added 11/3/2005
The only reason I rented this to start with was on the count of Dominique Swain. I knew ahead of time about all the bad reviews & negative feedback, but I wanted to give it a shot anyway.
NO..It is definitely not even in the margin of the best 200 Films you've ever seen, but it isn't THAT horrible. I thought Swain did very well in it. All of her actions in the film seemed real and justified. I agree some parts throughout the core of the movie made no sense, and made you wonder "Why was that even in there, or that doesn't even relate to anything in the story". But, there were a couple of good moments...the beginning & the end. (You will understand what I mean, if you've watched this film). I won't give it more than 1 and a half stars/2 stars, but I won't say watching this was a complete waste.
(As for the other actors-Melanie Griffiths part was almost merely a cameo, Mischa Barton did Ok, Lacey Chabert was her usual self, and Bijou Phillips was fair...But this definitely was one of Brad Renfro's worst.)
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Why Even Bother??
Added 9/20/2005
"Tart" is a good illustration of the old the Yogi Berra saying: "If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up someplace else". Writer/Director Christina Waye (in her first feature) has managed to make a $3 Million movie that never goes anywhere. "Tart" is either a coming of age story devoid of characters that a rational person can connect with, a black comedy without any humor, or a sexploitation movie without anything that is particularly sexy.
Unlike the standard Swain film, "Tart" actually employed a competent and experienced production designer. Good enough to provide two extremely nice shots: the scene of Swain and Barton taking a bubble bath together and the scene of Swain in the park-featuring a nice montage of the "Alice in Wonderland" sculpture. The symbolism incorporated into these elements supports the possibility that Waye (despite the absence of a linear logic or unity of tone) actually has some visionary talent and aspirations for making a quality film.
It is even possible that Waye was trying for a fusion of the somewhat expressionistic "Metropolitan" and the camp classic "Cruel Intentions" both of which also dealt with the Manhattan upper class. There are many camera shots framed by windows and doors yet few tight shots of faces and eyes. The former technique hinting at symbolism and the latter at intentional distancing from the characters and their motivations. "Tart" seemed on the verge of veering into camp territory at least twice and would have been well advised to keep going in that direction. First there was the scene where they try to dump the seemingly deceased Swain into the garbage chute. Then there is the whole bit about her father being Jewish (played to the same extreme as Joel Grey dancing with the Jewish guerrilla in "Cabaret").
In her other films Swain's acting technique is to overwhelm each scene in which she appears (insert scenery chewing here) but in "Tart" she actually shows an ability to restrain herself. This is the best performance of her career. It also provides some clues about her physical deterioration from willowy super cute in "Girl" to hulking lumpy-faced in "Pumpkin". This transformation was about half-complete by the time she made "Tart"; so go the ravages of time.
Mischa Barton ("Sixth Sense's" I feel better girl) and Lacey Chabet are excellent in supporting roles. The rest of the cast is simply horrible, although some of the blame for this should go to Waye's script and direction.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
5 out of 7 people found this helpful.
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Good Film - For Some People
Added 8/24/2005
Straight to the point. . . .there are a lot of mixed reviews here, but I would say that this movie is a really good film. Now, i'm in to the quirky, eye-catching, think you can't stomach what is going on with this film kinda movies that have young up and coming actors/actresses in it. Bijou Philips can always be spotted in most of the films, that's how you know it might fit the mold. Anyway, if you aren't into the crazy larry clark films such as "Kids" and "Bully", or any movies such as that, then this probably won't interest you a bit. Oh, and to that reviewer at the top. . . Megzi i believe their name was. . . .Mischa Barton who is great in the film, she doesn't throw on a fake english accent in the movie. . . she really is from London. . . do your research first!
4 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Love the deep South!!
Added 7/4/2008
I came across this movie on the LMN, and I loved it!! I was sucked right into this movie from the beginning, and caught myself wondering why isn't she doing this, or why doesn't she do that? I love Dominique Swain, and she was brilliant as a poor southern girl, and her friendship with her fortune teller friend was great, but the only part that really bugged me was WHY WAS SHE SO FILTHY THROUGH THE WHOLE MOVIE? I don't mean a filthy mouth, I mean, she obviously NEVER took a bath. EVER. I wanted to reach into the movie and throw her into the river myself.
I don't recommend this movie for everyone, I personally love everything about the south, and this movie has IT ALL! The accents, the messy house out in the bayou, the mental stalking crazy guy, the abusive husband,... if you like that kind of thing, this is the movie for you, but if not, you might want to invest in a movie like,... Girl, where Dominique is clean and sweet.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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kept me glued to the screen
Added 1/5/2008
I liked the way this movie worked. We are introduced to a poor couple living in some nameless small town in the Deep South and watch this quirky little cast of characters live in squalor by choice as well as circumstance. I liked that the movie portrayed the young pretty thing (Inez/Dominique Swain) realistically, she could not look too attractive in this film. It starts out as a star-crossed lover movie but it's more of a fable - don't judge a book by its cover comes to mind along with several other proverbs.
Plot goes something like this: fortune teller friend (Karen Allen) advises Inez that her true love is waiting for her. Inez assumes it's the rich pasty faced aristocrat with whom she has been fornicating. Her husband, struggling to get them out of poverty through robbery and other schemes, is not happy about the long disappearances of his wife on a daily basis so he beats & locks her up to stop her cheating ways. Flowers is a creepy figure that sniffs around Inez and helps the husband keep guard. Inez talks Flowers into doing her dirty work but things do not turn out the way she planned. The ending was very fitting and had an edgy fairytale quality to it. Rain comes poring down on Inez and her one true love, washing all their dirt away. Which made "Plain Dirty" a very apropos title - living life sometimes is just plain dirty unless you have a fairy godmother (Karen Allen) and fate bring you your one true love, by any means necessary.
There were key scenes that helped the characters come to life: when the husband places a chain around Inez' foot in an honest attempt to keep their marriage together, it is pathetic yet poignant; the touching scene where the fortune teller takes care of Inez and shares what little she has; or where Flowers and Inez discover they had the same childhood hiding spot. These are not just "backwoods hicks" as one angry reviewer suggests and you don't need to go to poor areas to find people neglecting one another and ignoring what is right in front of them. Also, I did not find Inez to be a helpless victim. It is clear from the very beginning that it is not one of those movies.
I gave it four stars for the engrossing characters and plotline and subtracted one star for the loopy MacBeth references - they have no place here and Scotland, PA does a greater job of updating Shakespeare's MacBeth then this movie.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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this movie is great
Added 5/16/2006
a really great movie, arie verveen's character would have to be my favorite in this movie. if anything watch this movie, if you have any taste you'll love it.l
3 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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