Claire Dolan (1998)

It all started when I saw something about Lodge Kerrigan's Keane on Henry Rollins' now-defunct IFC show. It seemed right up my alley, but of course, didn't come anywhere around here, so I was left counting the days until Netflix got the DVD in. Of course, I was floored by the film and kept Kerrigan's name in the back of my mind. Months later, when Criterion decided to release his first film, Clean Shaven, I decided it was time to look into Kerrigan's only other completed film, Claire Dolan. While not as satisfying or engrossing as Keane, it's still a great film.

What impresses me most here, as with Keane, is how great Kerrigan is at totally engrossing you into the story, into the character's mind and their life. Immediately we're pulled into Claire's world. Honestly, I don't really know how he pulls it off. In Keane, it was easier to see, since the camera was handheld and followed the titular character around as he frantically searched for his own daughter. But, in Claire, the style seems so opposite of that. It's completely detatched, much like Claire herself, just cold and distant. She accepts her role and acts almost as an observer, completely numb.

Of course, as typical movie logic would dictate, she soon meets a man (played by Vincent D'Onofrio) who isn't interested in her for sex. So, naturally, this should be a joyous event, which allows her to feel, and ultimately, to love again. But, the film up to now has been so psychological, so austere and deliberate that when the two are together, that we're constantly looking deeper, studying her expressions and trying to sense her emotions. In the film, sex isn't seen as pleasurable, but nor is it any kind of painful violation. Kerrigan strips it down to a rote, mechanical act, and even when she's with Elton, Claire seems to have the same lack of feeling as always.

I'm not really sure how to feel about D'Onofrio's character, or his acting for that matter. Part of him seems 'off' to me in the film. He seems a little too eager to please, a little too jumpy and nervous. It's very hard to explain. Honestly, I think it's just because Kerrigan does such a great job of engrossing us in Claire's world that it's impossible to get close to another character, kind of like Claire herself. Something about him just seems so alien and strange, neither Claire nor the viewer can accept him.