The Canyons

The Canyons explores the dark side of human nature, while trying to offer critiques on the technology obsession of modern society and a dying film industry.  The film follows the story Christian (James Deen) a manipulative movie producer who makes movies to keep his father off his back and to keep his trust fund.  Trouble stirs when Christian suspects that his girlfriend Tara (Lindsey Lohan) is seeing another man.  The Canyons is a twisted and erotic tale of the darkest parts of the human mind.

Director Paul Schrader does a good job of creating the sexually tangled and sadistic lifestyle of his characters on the surface.  But the characters feel a little flat, in part due to some bad acting and the direction of the movie goes astray is with its attempt at cultural critiques, the critiques end up to thinly spread over multiple subject matters.  Whether it is society’s obsession with technology or The Canyons perceived decline of the film industry it’s hard to identify the message that the film is so desperately grasping for.  The cinematography is rather beautiful for the most part and the movie is competently edited.  However this goes out the window during the opening scene for the most part, which is awkwardly shot and edited together.  The film does have an overbearing use of cutaways that can become annoying at some parts.  For instance in the opening scene in the middle of a conversation in a restaurant the film has a sweeping crane shot of a bar on the other side of the restaurant, this all done in the middle of the dialog.  

The Canyons is a movie that features one of the strangest acting ensembles ever assembled in a movie. A cast that ranges from porn star James Deen to award winning director Gus Van Sant who plays Dr. Campbell, Christian’s therapist.  It’s a daring move to cast a porn star as a leading man and judging from James Deen’s performance it’s a move that won’t be attempted again anytime soon.  A reason behind Deen’s casting though could be the movie’s various sexually twisted scenes.  The movie sports some of the most sadistically erotic scenes that I have ever seen in a film, the scenes will leave you disgusted (or aroused depending on whether that’s your thing or not) which I’m pretty sure is the movies intention.  The movie at times borders on being soft-core porn, but one that sports a sinister quirk.

The big draw of the movie, or the big question that everyone wants to know is if Lindsey Lohan puts on a good performance.  While it’s not the cannonball into the pool sort of performance that some may be hoping for out of Lindsey, it is a foot in the water, towards the right direction.  She puts on a solid performance and is undoubtedly the best actor/actress in the film, though her performance is nothing to rave about.  

The Canyons is a movie that I would tell people to go see, not because it’s a good movie, but that it is an experience much in the way that Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers is an experience.  The movie creates a stylistic, materialistic and infernal hell, but the bad acting occasionally pulls you out of the experience of the movie along with the movie being over packed with commentary.  The movie is gorgeous at parts and stylish, but it’s bad acting and lack of execution and direction keep the movie from becoming an in-depth exploration into the dark and sexually twisted hellscape of the human experience.

Rating: 44/100