Film Bites: Land of Plenty

Let the Michelle Williams admiration start here. The young actress bravely donned a garbage bag and an English accent for the drama "Me Without You." She stole Jurgen's heart in the otherwise tepid romantic comedy "The Baxter." Her warm, emphathic presence made Wim Wenders' new 9/11 film "Land of Plenty" into a truly watchable film.

Wender's constructs a basic story: a slightly unhinged Vietnam Vet (John Diehl) and his estranged twenty-year-old niece (Williams) come together after they witness a drive-by shooting of a homeless Pakistani man. Convinced that the dead man was an operative in an underground Al Queda cell, the uncle attempts to uncover a terrorist conspiracy. The film is thoughtful, well considered. Compared to the anti-American fervor of European filmmaker Lars Von Trier, Wenders' look at the current emotional state of America is both measured and welcome. The camera takes us inside a Los Angeles homeless shelter, the dusty, deserted streets of Trona, California and all the way across to the country for a view of Ground Zero. 

But without Williams' lovely presence, "Land of Plenty" would have felt like a civics lesson--or a sermon. [posted by Marcy]