ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

IT IS ALMOST a decade since erstwhile enfant terrible Harmony Korine made a film. The fact that Mister Lonely was partially filmed in Scotland adds to the sense of expectation that it could be something special.

It is certainly different, but his oddball mixture of the eccentric and the grotesque is very much an acquired taste. Most audiences probably will not mind if he leaves another ten years before the next film.

Mister Lonely is a love story of sorts that also serves as a reflection on alienation, blind faith and rugged individuality. Diego Luna stars as a Michael Jackson impersonator in Paris. He meets a blousy Marilyn Monroe impersonator (Samantha Morton) who invites him to a Scottish castle where a collection of celebrity impersonators have established a commune of like-minded souls.

The commune could almost be a strange sect and includes Marilyn’s husband Charlie Chaplin (Denis Lavant) and their daughter Shirley Temple (Esme Creed-Miles).

If that doesn’t sound strange enough there is a parallel, seemingly unconnected story set in the jungles of Panama where Father Umbrillo (Werner Herzog) works on persuading a group of nuns to test their faith by jumping from a plane without wearing parachutes. Maybe everything in life is just a leap into the unknown.

Mister Lonely does have some amusing moments and a very endearing performance from Diego Luna who performs Michael Jackson’s trademark moonwalk, whoops and crotch thrusts as a busker in Paris. It has a lush look and makes the most of some breathtaking locations around the film’s Scottish base in Plockton.

However, it is so idiosyncratic that it is impossible to take the film seriously, which becomes an insurmountable flaw when the story takes a turn towards the tragic.

Selected Nationwide release

Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, James Fox, Anita Pallenberg, Werner Herzog
Screenwriter: Avi Korine, Harmony Korine
Certificate: 15
Running time: 112 mins
Country: UK/France/Ireland/USA
Year: 2007