When Will I Be Loved (2004)

What's with the hate for this film? Does everyone suddenly dislike well-written dialogue-driven pictures, or is it that James Toback makes no bones about his dirty-old-man desires? Hell, Toback even anticipates his detractors by casting himself as the Jewish professor by whom Neve Campbell is being interviewed, casting his lust as professional concern and worldliness but not exactly trying to hide the intent. Over his last few films, he's been reworking and refining his muse, slowly carving away at the self-importance and the chaff, and it looks like he's finally reached the perfect distillation. Imagine what Black & White would look like if it was more honest, better acted and didn't hide behind the facade of race-relations-drama, and that's what you get here. Neve by the freakin' way gives her best performance yet, and one of the best female performances of the year -- the long negotiation scene with Dominic Chianese, in particular, hints that she might be surprisingly skilled with Mametspeak. The loss of her inhibition vis-a-vis nudity coincides with the loss of her self-consciousness as an actress. It'll be interesting to see where she goes from here.

Grade: B+