Frances McDormand is a lady of the canyon
in Lisa Cholodenko's delightful "Laurel Canyon". She's a bisexual record
producer in early middle-age who still behaves like a teenager despite
having an adult son, (Christian Bale), who is studying psychiatry in a
hospital ward and who has a mousy girlfriend, (Kate Beckinsale), who
gets sucked into McDormand's world. Others in the mix include Allesandro
Nivola as McDormand's younger rock star boyfriend and Natascha McElhone
as one of Bale's colleagues with whom he gets romantically involved.
It's a surprisingly sweet-natured film considering that everyone is screwing everyone else, metaphorically and literally, and while not a great deal happens Cholodenko treats her characters with so much affection you actually find yourself wanting to spend time in their company. All the performances are excellent but it is McDormand and Bale as the mismatched but ultimately loving mother and son who finally hold the film together. A smart, likeable entertainment.
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