Bug
Director: William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection, Blue Chips, Rules of Engagement)
Writer: Tracy Letts
Producers: Kimberly C. Anderson, Michael Burns, Gary Huckabay, Malcolm Petal, Andreas Schardt, Holly Wiersma
Starring: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Lynn Collins, Brian F. O'Byrne, Harry Connick Jr.
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 102 min
read my spoiler disclaimer

reviewed by Andrew James
     Except for those of us that really love and keep up with the newest genre or more "Twitchy" films, I can pretty much guarantee this will be the oddest film you've seen this year and likely for the rest of 2007.

      This will have to be a shorter review since to go too deep and give out too much information might ruin the "fun" of the film. But bascially it goes like this: Ashley Judd plays Agnes; a lonesome, southern, white trash, roadhouse, cocktail witress who lives in a desolate, seedy motel. She is plagued by strange, prank phone calls throughout the day and night and we figure out quickly she is being bothered by an ex of some kind; and a not to savory one at that. Her only friend is a lesbian co-worker who brings a stranger over to Agnes' home one night for drinks and conversation. Agnes finds this new stranger to be, although extremely weird (in a Forrest Gump meets Buffalo Bill [Silence of the Lambs] sort of way), very nice company and basically a decent guy. As they both seem to have troubled pasts, they form a firm bond and he ends up staying with Agnes for a spell.

      Soon the ex-husband (an ex-con played by Harry Connick Jr) comes poking around and causing trouble. Agnes and Peter (the strange friend) at the same time discover small, biting bugs in their bed and soon realize that the entire motel room is infested with them. Because of Peter's shaky and shady past, they agree to not arouse suspicion and just take care of the problem themselves. But there's more to these little bed-bugs than meet the eye; MUCH more.

      To go any further would be to ruin things. From my description above you might think this is some kind of weird creature feature ala Slither. Far from it. This is psychological thrills at it's most outlandish.

      I'm actually astonished that Ashley Judd signed up for a project like this. I wonder if she knew what the final outcome might look like when she agreed to this role. I mean some of the lines that come out of her mouth are the craziest, B-movie, Cronenberg-esque things I've heard someone of her normal, Hollywood chicklet persona say. She reminded me very much of Charlize Theron's performance in Monster; her beauty hidden, her intelligence stripped and her class gone. It's a wonderful performance but something that is very uncharacteristic of Ms. Judd. Of maybe even higher caliber, is Michael Shannon's performance as Peter - a very strange man with a hidden and mysterious (to say the least) past. It was a joy to watch both actors in their element; even though i'm not entirely sure what that element was.

      This is most certainly not a film for just anybody, as evident by the quite a few number people who left the theater after about 45 minutes. The film does seem to take its time in getting to the point (if indeed there is one). It is a lot of character development by way of conversation. But I think most would agree the conversation is fresh and interesting. Definitely something original that is missing from many Hollywood films of today.

      The style is just as unique and really deserves more than just a passing mention. It is most certainly a triumph for this hit-or-miss director. The whole feeling of everything has got a raw realism to it that works fantastically well. Besides the grittiness of the motel room and bar, but also the very subtle (and not so subtle at times) sound effects and use of sound mixing.

      If you're able to just go with it, Bug can be more than a good time. I think you'll see that the characters and their dialogue are more than engrossing enough to get you through to the meat of the story. At that point, you'll be so fascinated and intrigued as to what the hell is going on that you just have to stay throughout the head-shaking, wtf climax to the story. Again, although I liked it quite a bit, it's definitely not a film for everyone, but shows us what boundaries will be crossed to assuage our lonliness. This film, if nothing else, will certainly get under your skin.

andrew@moviepatron.com