A quiet day on the movie front for Day 4, mainly due to interviews, but the first film of the day was certainly one of the more fascinating seen at a festival often defined by its own sense of ordinariness.

Slipstream
Along comes the remarkable Slipstream, written and directed by the formidable Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins also plays the part of one Felix Bonhoeffer, an aging screenwriter who has lived his life in two states of existence: in reality and his own interior world. While working on his latest script, and unaware of what lay ahead, he is baffled when his characters start to appear in his life, and vice versa.

From the outset, Slipstream is not for everyone, and there is little doubt that it will divide audiences and critics alike. Yet, this delicate, stylized work is a haunting meditation on life, death, reality and dreams, all of which are intertwined in this profound, original and mesmerising film.

Hopkins' use of colour, music [he composed the film's evocative score] and his frenetic and effective use of editing, all combine to deliver a film that explores the artifice of cinema, Los Angeles, violence and the media, yet through Hopkins' extraordinary vision, this is a film that forces us to think about its complex themes, rather than allow a conventional narrative to wash over a complacent audience.

This is richly thematic yet distinctly personal, as the 69-year old, in part, contemplates his sense of mortality. Engrossing, at times sardonically funny, and visually hypnotic, as both actor and director, Hopkins has done something that is astonishing.


Shortly after, I had the privilege of talking to Hopkins, who was in a good mood and generous of time and spirit. He confirmed that he has nothing to new with the new Hannibal "but I wish them well" and also confirmed that he will next start work on a film about Alfred Hitchcock. Always the classy gentleman, Hopkins remains one of the best and most giving interview subjects I have spoken too in over two decades, and one only wishes there were more like him. My Hopkins interview in full will run soon.

I also spoke 1:1 with the beautiful [and pregnant] Keri Russell and her Waitress co-star Cheryl Hines. Hines said that they are shooting what is likely to be the last season of Curb your Enthusiasm and will air in the Fall. Russell, who is house moving with her fiancé, talked about August Rush, her new film with Robin Williams, describing it "a family drama" and is hoping it will come out soon. Both actors talked of course about Waitress, the impact of seeing the film for the first time, and the legacy of Adrienne Shelly.


The Go-Getter
Then I caught up with The Go-Getter, an amiable, charming road movie of sorts, In this disarming, sexy, wonderfully written comedy, a teenager, beautifully played by Lou Taylor Pucci, takes a road-trip in a stolen car to find his long-lost brother after his mother dies. Along the way he discovers a profound connection with the car-owner as well as himself.

Flawlessly crafted by Martin Hynes and gorgeously shot, here is another example of a film with an adolescent central hero does not need to be clichéd. Pucci gives a sublime, understated performance, and is helped by another stunning performance is the exquisite Zooey Deschanel, who gets better and more interesting with each film.

Wonderfully funny and movie, The Go-Getter is highly commercial and is bound to be a crowd pleaser.

Tomorrow, the new Antonio Banderas-directed film, plus I catch up with the Clubland folks, Parker Posey and the gorgeous Jena Malone.