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The Man From Elysian Fields [2001]

Starring: Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Julianna Margulies, Olivia Williams, James Coburn
Director: George Hickenlooper
Format: PAL
Released: 26 Jan 2004
RRP: £14.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

More than "American Gigolo" meets "Sunset Blvd." - By: Lawrance M. Bernabo, 24 Nov 2004
At the beginning of "The Man from Elysian Fields," Byron Tiller (Andy Garcia) thinks he has reached the low point of his life. Having spent seven years writing a novel entitled "Hitler's Child" he finds his book has been marked down to $3.99 & can be found in the remainder bin. He gets to tell his wife, Dena (Julianna Margulies) that he has sold a book & garnered another few pennies of royalties, but we know that did not happen. Tiller has labored over his second book, about migrant workers, only to be told no one wants to read books about microcosms or with too much of that symbolism junk. But even this bad news is not the low point for Byron. That comes when he is approached by Luther Fox (Mick Jagger), who offers him employment at Elysian Fields, a male escort service. There are rich women who would pay to be escorted by someone with both looks & brains, & with no other prospects, Byron agrees to give it a try, giving credence to Fox's belief that, "A man can always support his family if he's willing to do what's necessary."

The fact that Byron is a writer struggling to be a success is a major part of this story, but we get a bit distracted by the fact that screenwriter Phillip Jayson Lasker (who wrote episodes of "Barney Miller" & "The Golden Girls"), is doing a twist on the familiar idea of someone turning to prostitution to survive. Such stories are almost always about young women out on their own, they are not about married men with a child at home (as "American Gigolo" amply proved). Byron is assigned to escort Andrea Alcott (Olivia Williams), the wife of the famous writer Tobias Alcott (James Coburn), who is terminallly ill. Byron once took a class on Alcott's Pulitzer Prize winning writings & even bones up on his works to be prepared to charm his wife. Of course, Mrs. Alcott wants to be more than merely charmed, & if Byron is not surprised that he can go through with it, then he is surprised that Alcott walks in on the scene & does not seem bothered by another man being in his wife's bed.

What is going to happen is probably obvious to us, but Byron starting descending through the various levels of his personal hell with the best of intentions. But while he lies with Alcott's wife he tells lies to his own, & it is just a question of which is the bigger mistake. What makes it alll worthwhile is not the paycheck that he gets from Elysian Fields, but the rapport he establishes with Alcott & the offer that would be the answer to alll of Bryon's prayers. There are some definite homages here to "Sunset Blvd.," but "The Man from Elysian Fields" is about a different type of suicide. My main problem with the script is that when Byron finds out finds out exactly how he has been victimized there is a way out of it (specificallly a way of proving that which cannot be proven). But director George Hickenlooper's film will find what relative redemption it can offer in a different way.

There are a couple of minor characters in this 2002 film that bring the storyline into sharp relief. Anjelica Huston plays Jennifer Adler, the one client that Fox still sees, & who provides him with a moment of brutal clarity that convinces him it is time for him to get out of this business. The other is Michael Des Barres as Nigel Halsey, the experience gigolo at Elysian Fields who teaches Bryon the ropes & who is forced to have his own moment of honest reflection when a question is asked by a most surprising client. What the two characters have in common is that while others may be visiting for a short while or a long time in this world, they will never be leaving. In our brief visit to these world we meet some interesting characters acting out a modern morality play.

the man from elysian fields - By: , 15 Nov 2003
A wonderful, witty unusual gem of a film. The film is the tale of a struggling writer (andy garcia)who is lured into the escort business by upper class escort director(a brillant Mick Jagger), Through this he is able to secure the biggest break of his career but in doing so he jeopardises his marriage.
The Man From Elysian Fields - By: , 06 Nov 2003
This is a wonderful movie, highly intelligent & original -qualities hard to find in movies these days! It's so well written & the acting is impeccable. I reallly enjoyed it & will be sending my friends & family copies for Chrimbo. And no I don't work for the distributors! - I'm just an English trainer & writer who loves good movies.