Trees Lounge
A story about one man's search ... for who knows what.
All Tommy wants from life is what everyone else has - a job, a girl, a good time. But the harder he tries, the worse things get. And the more time he spends at Trees Lounge, his Long Island neighborhood bar, the more he gets involved with the lives of the colorful characters he meets there. Acclaimed actor Steve Buscemi wrote, directed and stars in this freshly original slice-of-life blend of humor, drama, and heartfelt emotion.
Member Reviews
real life sucks. - billie
This made me feel almost ill - the reality of people who virtually live in a bar is upsetting. Buscemi's character knows the angst and wants out but doesn't know how. It's a very sad movie, very nicely put together, hard to watch at first but then you get sucked in and want to see it through. Shoulda picked something more positive to watch on New Year's Eve, though!This is a really wonderful first go! - kap0n3
Steve Buschemi works with great grace both as an actor and, now, as a writer and director. His writing seems effortless, wry, naturalistic and shy, much like his public persona as a wonderful character actor of our times (character actor meant with the highest regard). I could comment on the existentialist angle of the characterization of Tommy as a wanderer, that spartan romantic who like a teenager remains in between worlds, in decisionless void of heartbreak and regret. He is far from a loser, because he is very aware of what he has lost; a loser is moreso lost because he lacks consciousness of his actions and his place. It's a fairly apt post-modern statement on men especially. It is a delight to watch Buschemi at the heart of a very reflective, introspective film surrounded by great moments from Seymour Cassell, Chloe Sevigny, and others. The only disappointments for me were the overblown displays by LaPaglia, who is usually splendid, and Daniel Baldwin -- the extremely volatile proto-masculine images left impotent among more subtle performances such as Bracco's. I look forward to Buschemi's next written work; this is a really wonderful first go!Better Than It Should Be - coutard
Trees Lounge might be best known these days for its association with the Sopranos. Both offer an unsentimental look at arid, urban North Jersey; Steve Buscemi played and directed in both; and Sopranos creator David Chase not only expressed admiration for Trees, but sought out Buscemi's casting agents for his series. Both also deal with the subjects of self-delusion and addiction with uncommon clarity and insight.
I remember Trees Lounge from the heyday of 90's independent film, when Tarantino was king and Buscemi on the bill promised some hip new treat. I was underwhelmed then, but this one deserves a second look. It's clearer today that Buscemi's ordinary-guy mien had little to do with the stylized cool of the 90's--think of him instead as a William H. Macy before his time--and Trees offers the proof. Sure, the film's got Hayden on the soundtrack and a clever Pavement reference in the script, but Trees Lounge could have been written any time in the last 50 years. It's about painfully unhip people in a bar, going nowhere.
Don't look for blockbuster elements here, because there aren't any. Quiet effectiveness is the more the thing. The cast (including cool girls Chloe Sevigny and Ezster Balint), the script, the direction all get the job done with a minimum of fuss, and somehow this takes the film a lot farther than it should. I wasn't overly impressed with any particular aspect of this movie, even though I liked it well enough--but I watched it three times in a row. That should tell you all you need to know.
Member Reviews
Read All...
real life sucks. - billie
This made me feel almost ill - the reality of people who virtually live in a bar is upsetting. Buscemi's character knows the angst and wants out but doesn't know how. It's a very sad movie, very nicely put together, hard to watch at first but then you get ...This is a really wonderful first go! - kap0n3
Steve Buschemi works with great grace both as an actor and, now, as a writer and director. His writing seems effortless, wry, naturalistic and shy, much like his public persona as a wonderful character actor of our times (character actor meant with the highest ...Better Than It Should Be - coutard
Trees Lounge might be best known these days for its association with the Sopranos. Both offer an unsentimental look at arid, urban North Jersey; Steve Buscemi played and directed in both; and Sopranos creator David Chase not only expressed admiration for ...