Written by Josh Boone (director of Marvel’s upcoming The New Mutants), the plot kicks off in the 1970s and follows the amorous episodes of sheepish film student Terry, budding actress Catherine and the salacious photographer Phil (Shameik Moore), who meet while watching the Godard flick and become fast friends, confidants, artistic collaborators and lovers. It’s as if Franco decided to revisit some of the best works of the New Wave, and other epochs, through the sole point-of-view of his penis. But it’s also just deaf to the very movies that it’s trying to celebrate, which are recognized less for their artistic value than for their ability to get people laid. Made before the Harvey Weinstein affair and other #MeToo scandals, including those involving Franco himself, went public, The Pretenders is tone-deaf in ways that will no longer pass muster in a post-Weinstein world. Franco clearly didn’t get the memo about Schneider’s treatment on that film.) (This is a real scene, and it happens twice.
That’s the catalyst for the rest of the story, which includes many other nods to ’60s and ’70s art house classics, such as a bit where Terry goes to see Last Tango in Paris and gets it on with a Maria Schneider-lookalike in the alleyway behind the theater. There are genuine efforts to make this feel heartbreaking, even deeply personal, but Franco keeps us distant, almost vouyeristic, which might be a design choice and even intentional in Boone’s screenplay, but it draws a clear boundary that has us leaning in to try and get a closer look without ever feeling close enough to make it matter.It’s also an extremely male-centric view of cinema whereby a wannabe auteur, Terry (Jack Kilmer), falls head-over-heels for a beautiful girl, Catherine (Jane Levy), whom he sees as the spitting image of Anna Karina and first encounters during a screening of Godard’s A Woman Is a Woman.
But it’s awkwardly static and there is, by its end, no wonder in the journey of Terry and his endeavors, despite the hurdles right there in the story that offer plenty of potential. It’s too bad because initially, the characters are engrossing, the setup prime and the setting authentic. However, the story is not without some hooks and there is some compulsion in seeing how point A gets to points B and C with some interest, despite a general lack of momentum. That means lots of blurry edges and deep shadows, roaming handhelds and intense lighting. We don’t get any sense of personality from Terry, Phil or Catherine, only that one is tender and in love with cinema maybe more than romance and the other wielding sex like a hammer she the pendulum between them.įranco does find some flare in the presentation, purposefully taming the whole thing to look a bit amateurish, with most of it seemingly coming from a director who knows his influences and does what he can to emulate without duplicating. None of that is probably the point though, Franco, working from a script by Josh Boone, interested in the larger blunt force trauma of love, betrayal, loss and less. It’s awash in saturated neon colors, random nudity, plenty of clips of foreign movies, and a few modest efforts in giving it a period look. Unfortunately, Phil can’t tolerate that Terry might find happiness and commits to sabotage, and over the years, the three cross paths until Terry finally gets his big break, turning a story by Catherine into a screenplay where he meets Victoria ( Juno Temple), hoping she will help him get over his past.ĭirected by James Franco, The Pretenders is an arthouse student film in about every respect, with a very small budget and a minimalist approach filmed with hazy filters and a stage play feel. Terry becomes obsessed with finding Catherine, and when they finally reconnect, convinces her to star in his short film based on his search and feelings for her, believing it an opportunity to get intimate. He also meets Phil ( Shameik Moore), an ambitious photographer with a history of sleeping around, resisting personal relationships.
#The pretenders 2019 movie#
It’s 1979 and Terry ( Jack Kilmer) meets an enchanting young woman named Catherine ( Jane Levy) at a movie theater, but lets her go before getting her name and number. The Pretenders is a 2019 drama about a love triangle involving a photographer, a director and an actress.
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