Laurel Canyon

REVIEW
Lisa Cholodenko (High Art) returns in high style with Laurel Canyon, a sharply observed and impressively acted look at family dynamics – West Cost style. The young but straight-laced Sam (Christian Bale) and his equally bookwormish fiancée Alex (Kate Beckinsale) have moved to Los Angeles so he can do his psychiatric residency, and she can complete her dissertation. Unfortunately, the house the couple plans to stay in is still occupied by his flaky, pot-smoking mother, Jane (Frances McDormand). An accomplished record producer, Jane is finishing up an album for her sexy young lover Ian (Allesandro Nivola) and his band. As Sam thinly masks his contempt for Mom — he tells Alex she has "a rarified strain of a development disorder" — he also finds himself sublimating his desires for Sara (Natascha McElhone), a comely resident at the hospital. Meanwhile, Alex becomes enamored with (and seduced by) the carefree Ian and Jane. As all of the characters behave badly, tensions build until they reach the breaking point.

The film boasts striking cinematography and a terrific soundtrack courtesy of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. (The superb Nivola sings beautifully, too.) Yet the real triumph here is McDormand, who gives another performance that is a career highlight.