Author: Marci Kelemen
Location: Hungary
"PATTI"
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by James Vanderbilt
Cast
Jena Malone as Patti Lepton
Michael Eklund as Peter Hall
Onata Aprile as Leah Sollen
Tagline: “It matters not what someone is born, it matters what they grow to be!”
Synopsis
After a tiring hospital shift Patti Lepton decided not to sit in her car, so she went home by train. She bought the tickets then got on the wagon which was waiting for five minutes. She sat comfortably, took her favorite medical magazine. Cold, frozen breeze came through the cabin, so she zipped the leather-coat and hugged herself tightly. The train started to go soon. Patti slept to a deep dream. After forty-two minutes the train arrived to the station and the old ticket inspector waked her. Patti stood up slowly and walked home. She looked around her empty flat and smiled: “Home sweet home!” – she thought. Patti hadn’t longed for family, lover or stylish furnished flat. She was satisfied with her tacky old sofa, creaky floor and lonely evenings. As a doctor she earned a lot, but the luxury was unknown for her. The greater part of her salary was paid to support ill children, pet-asylums and homeless people.
On the other day she woke up to dog barking. She tottered sleepy to the kitchen and while she was making the tea, she yawned: “When would this damned beast shut up?” – she was in a fret. She leaned out the window and saw her neighbor Peter Hall, who was doing something in the garage. She waved to him and pulled in the curtain. After that, the fruity tea was made and with a plate of butter-marmalade splits she sat in front of the TV. The missing girl: Leah Sollen was in the news again. The eight years old girl mysteriously disappeared on her way from school for a week. Hundreds of people looked for her in the near forests, parks and empty woods. Patti was so steeped onto the screen that she hadn’t realized that she was in hurry. When she noticed it, went to brush her teeth and rushed out of the door. As she walked to the street, she had a feeling, that someone spies her.
In the hospital everybody spoke about the missing girl. There was a lot of speculation among the health-workers and the patients such as the girl was kidnapped by some cannibals, was eaten by a bear, or she is hidden as a hostage by the mafia and they would call for ransom. Patti had more important matter than gossips: she had to do two nephrectomies during the morning.
Patti was ready for half past four in the afternoon and stopped by her favorite bakery to buy a dozen from the orange-creamed cake. While she was walking down the street, a familiar car stopped next to her. Peter Hall was there, Patti’s neighbor, who solicited her to get in his car. Patti hesitated at first, but the man’s gimlet eyes became suspicious for her and then she decided to obey the not so kind request. Peter brought her to a lonely meadow and parked near a bushy place. They sat silent for seconds when Patti broke it: “What do you want?” – she asked. The man didn’t reply and long seconds spent again. Then Patti got out the car and walked back toward the town. The man shouted behind her: ‘I couldn’t imagine that about you!’.
The paranoia started to rule on Patti. What should she do? What does this Peter Hall want from her? And the more important: what couldn’t he imagine about her? This uncertain ignorance began annoying her to madness. She got on the bus and while she has been arrived to the town, it was evening. Patti was ready to do, what she had to do before. “Safety first!” – she thought.
Somebody hit the door. Once. Then few times. Finally, it silenced. The little Leah was burst into tears and put her face in her palms. She lived for days in dry bread and water, lied in her own urine and excrement and had less power to survive. Steps were heard, then a key turned and the door was open. Leah and her captor saw at each other’s eyes. Patti Lepton stared disdainfully at the suffering girl and shut the door angrily. She pulled out the drawer and grabbed her silenced pistol and targeted to the larder-door. Three shots were heard. Nobody moved behind the door. Not anymore.
“Police! Open the door!” – it was heard from the front door…
Awards Campaign
This interesting structured film is masterfully unpredictable and incredibly depressive. At first the story runs on one line: we get to know a single doctor, who is perfectly satisfied with her life: she doesn’t need a family, child and in her tiny flat she can afford to support poor people. We could sometimes hear about the disappearance of a little girl, which fact we don’t connect to the original story at the first time. It seems too marginal. But the twist, as usual, clears up in the end of the film. The stories of the missing girl and the doctor aren’t two different plots but the same! Patti Lepton the person, who kidnapped the girl and executes in the last scene. The morbid and strange story is exciting in every aspect: the boring everydays aren’t so boring and eventless as we think. Jena Malone’s performance as Patti Lepton is complicated: she looks like as a kind, lovely and careerist woman but in deep she is a psychopath. The success of the actress’ performance depends on the director and the screenplay also, but not so many Hollywood-actresses can so unobtrusively performance such an evildoer. The viewer has ambiguous feelings about the protagonist: for the first time everybody likes her, sympathize with her puritanism and when the camera shows Patti’s face while she is opening the larder-door, they feel hatred, antipathy also embarrassment and scorn. – “We couldn’t imagine that”.
Peter Hall accidentally became an eyewitness when Patti kidnapped the girl, but the soul-labile, depressive and drunkard man is too coward to act immediately. He rings the police too late, when the girl was shot by her slayer. Michael Eklund’s supporting performance marked out from the film and it makes us to raise and issue: why wasn’t he chosen due to his surprisingly talented actor in more films?
The photographing is first-rate, the camera moving is effective, the screenplay is unreliable unique and the director work was courageous and revolutionary new. In the end of the day, when we close our eyes, mostly Jena Malone’s performance is that, which wakes us from the half-coma: the impassive face, the pair of scornful eyes and her transubstantiation from the popular and successful doctor to a cruel, child-slayer psychopath.Jena’s performance was phenomenal!
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Best Picture
Best Director: Steven Soderbergh
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jena Malone
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Michael Eklund
Best Original Screenplay: James Vanderbilt
Best Casting Choice: Jena Malone as Patti Lepton
Most Original Character: Patti Lepton, played by Jena Malone
Best Plot/Synopsis
Best Awards Campaign
Best Tagline: “It matters not what someone is born, it matters what they grow to be!”
Location: Hungary
"PATTI"
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by James Vanderbilt
Cast
Jena Malone as Patti Lepton
Michael Eklund as Peter Hall
Onata Aprile as Leah Sollen
Tagline: “It matters not what someone is born, it matters what they grow to be!”
Synopsis
After a tiring hospital shift Patti Lepton decided not to sit in her car, so she went home by train. She bought the tickets then got on the wagon which was waiting for five minutes. She sat comfortably, took her favorite medical magazine. Cold, frozen breeze came through the cabin, so she zipped the leather-coat and hugged herself tightly. The train started to go soon. Patti slept to a deep dream. After forty-two minutes the train arrived to the station and the old ticket inspector waked her. Patti stood up slowly and walked home. She looked around her empty flat and smiled: “Home sweet home!” – she thought. Patti hadn’t longed for family, lover or stylish furnished flat. She was satisfied with her tacky old sofa, creaky floor and lonely evenings. As a doctor she earned a lot, but the luxury was unknown for her. The greater part of her salary was paid to support ill children, pet-asylums and homeless people.
On the other day she woke up to dog barking. She tottered sleepy to the kitchen and while she was making the tea, she yawned: “When would this damned beast shut up?” – she was in a fret. She leaned out the window and saw her neighbor Peter Hall, who was doing something in the garage. She waved to him and pulled in the curtain. After that, the fruity tea was made and with a plate of butter-marmalade splits she sat in front of the TV. The missing girl: Leah Sollen was in the news again. The eight years old girl mysteriously disappeared on her way from school for a week. Hundreds of people looked for her in the near forests, parks and empty woods. Patti was so steeped onto the screen that she hadn’t realized that she was in hurry. When she noticed it, went to brush her teeth and rushed out of the door. As she walked to the street, she had a feeling, that someone spies her.
In the hospital everybody spoke about the missing girl. There was a lot of speculation among the health-workers and the patients such as the girl was kidnapped by some cannibals, was eaten by a bear, or she is hidden as a hostage by the mafia and they would call for ransom. Patti had more important matter than gossips: she had to do two nephrectomies during the morning.
Patti was ready for half past four in the afternoon and stopped by her favorite bakery to buy a dozen from the orange-creamed cake. While she was walking down the street, a familiar car stopped next to her. Peter Hall was there, Patti’s neighbor, who solicited her to get in his car. Patti hesitated at first, but the man’s gimlet eyes became suspicious for her and then she decided to obey the not so kind request. Peter brought her to a lonely meadow and parked near a bushy place. They sat silent for seconds when Patti broke it: “What do you want?” – she asked. The man didn’t reply and long seconds spent again. Then Patti got out the car and walked back toward the town. The man shouted behind her: ‘I couldn’t imagine that about you!’.
The paranoia started to rule on Patti. What should she do? What does this Peter Hall want from her? And the more important: what couldn’t he imagine about her? This uncertain ignorance began annoying her to madness. She got on the bus and while she has been arrived to the town, it was evening. Patti was ready to do, what she had to do before. “Safety first!” – she thought.
Somebody hit the door. Once. Then few times. Finally, it silenced. The little Leah was burst into tears and put her face in her palms. She lived for days in dry bread and water, lied in her own urine and excrement and had less power to survive. Steps were heard, then a key turned and the door was open. Leah and her captor saw at each other’s eyes. Patti Lepton stared disdainfully at the suffering girl and shut the door angrily. She pulled out the drawer and grabbed her silenced pistol and targeted to the larder-door. Three shots were heard. Nobody moved behind the door. Not anymore.
“Police! Open the door!” – it was heard from the front door…
Awards Campaign
This interesting structured film is masterfully unpredictable and incredibly depressive. At first the story runs on one line: we get to know a single doctor, who is perfectly satisfied with her life: she doesn’t need a family, child and in her tiny flat she can afford to support poor people. We could sometimes hear about the disappearance of a little girl, which fact we don’t connect to the original story at the first time. It seems too marginal. But the twist, as usual, clears up in the end of the film. The stories of the missing girl and the doctor aren’t two different plots but the same! Patti Lepton the person, who kidnapped the girl and executes in the last scene. The morbid and strange story is exciting in every aspect: the boring everydays aren’t so boring and eventless as we think. Jena Malone’s performance as Patti Lepton is complicated: she looks like as a kind, lovely and careerist woman but in deep she is a psychopath. The success of the actress’ performance depends on the director and the screenplay also, but not so many Hollywood-actresses can so unobtrusively performance such an evildoer. The viewer has ambiguous feelings about the protagonist: for the first time everybody likes her, sympathize with her puritanism and when the camera shows Patti’s face while she is opening the larder-door, they feel hatred, antipathy also embarrassment and scorn. – “We couldn’t imagine that”.
Peter Hall accidentally became an eyewitness when Patti kidnapped the girl, but the soul-labile, depressive and drunkard man is too coward to act immediately. He rings the police too late, when the girl was shot by her slayer. Michael Eklund’s supporting performance marked out from the film and it makes us to raise and issue: why wasn’t he chosen due to his surprisingly talented actor in more films?
The photographing is first-rate, the camera moving is effective, the screenplay is unreliable unique and the director work was courageous and revolutionary new. In the end of the day, when we close our eyes, mostly Jena Malone’s performance is that, which wakes us from the half-coma: the impassive face, the pair of scornful eyes and her transubstantiation from the popular and successful doctor to a cruel, child-slayer psychopath.Jena’s performance was phenomenal!
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Best Picture
Best Director: Steven Soderbergh
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jena Malone
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Michael Eklund
Best Original Screenplay: James Vanderbilt
Best Casting Choice: Jena Malone as Patti Lepton
Most Original Character: Patti Lepton, played by Jena Malone
Best Plot/Synopsis
Best Awards Campaign
Best Tagline: “It matters not what someone is born, it matters what they grow to be!”