HE DIED WITH A FELAFEL IN HIS HAND: DVD

The film is like a felafel filled with a combination of flavours and tastes that blend together to create something new from elements that aren’t. Pop cannibalism on screen, you might say, without a derivative result. This is Lowenstein’s major achievement, as is his work with the cast. It results in sustained tension and sustainable comedy. Activated within the setting of a young man in search of an ideal house to share, the film’s amusement value is high, despite a slightly strained structure, around the middle. But nothing can detract from Noah Taylor’s outstanding performance as Danny the misfit whose pov gives us entry into this haphazard world. You could say that the role of Danny was tailor made for him. . . .his timing and screen presence were worth the wait. (Lowenstein had to delay shooting for six months while Taylor worked on Almost Famous.) He balances the needs of the comedic pain with the exigencies of dramatic truth very well. Entertaining, often bizarre and observant, HDWAFIHH is a really successful adaptation, making the material work on screen, unlocked from the written word.

Published February 14, 2002