Steven Soderbergh's Schizopolis

Released: 1996 (theaters), 2003 (dvd)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Steven Soderbergh

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The DVD case says "All attempts at synopsizing the film have ended in failure and hospitalization," but I am going to try anyway. The movie held within is entitled Steven Soderbergh’s Schizopolis, and as you can see from the credits above, it’s a bit of an understatement.

Though I had seen King of the Hill (1993) many years prior, it was not until Out of Sight in 1998 that I joined the Soderbergh fan club. Since that time he has diverted his career path at every opportunity: lauded social commentator (Traffic, Erin Brockovich), avant-garde art house autuer (Full Frontal, Solaris) and populist showman (Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve). I have seen (and own) nearly all of his catalog, leaving this 2003 Criterion Collection dvd as one of the last on the must-see list. After seeing Full Frontal (read my review) a couple years back, I thought nothing could be quite as strange. I was wrong.

Soderbergh, who as an actor comes off as a strange hybrid of Larry David and David Duchovny, stars as dentist Jeffrey Korchek and/or copywriter Fletcher Munson. I say and/or because this movie wraps around on itself like a Möbius strip and in a blink of an eye and twist of the head, Soderbergh as Munson morphs into Soderbergh as Korchek. Even more confusing is when Korchek starts having an affair with Munson’s wife (played by then real-life spouse Betsy Brantley), only to fall in love with another woman (billed as Attractive Woman #2 and played also by Brantley). One of the most peculiar (and amusing) lines in the film is when Munson, spying on his house during the day, declares "I think I’m having an affair with my wife!"

Made on a small budget while in a creative limbo, Soderbergh enticed his friends to spend a moment in his imagination. In this
hyper reality, traditional concepts of dialogue
takes a back seat.We see Munson speak in tongues, others in stunted nonsense
("Nose army. Beef diaper?"), and placeholder verbage ("Standard
greeting." and
"Meaningless inquiry as to health."). Even more perplexing are the
characters
with speaking roles being referred to as if they were extras: Nameless Numberhead Man (future Ocean’s sidekick Eddie Jemison), Right Hand Man, Man Being Interviewed and The Mysterious Couple. The Couple provide a film-within-the-film "thing" as they trail Elmo Oxygen
around town, through extermination duties, afternoon delights and more.

To make the whole thing a little more meta, Soderbergh interviews "himself" on a special commentary track. It is at once entertaining, enlightening and excruciating. It’s hard to tell whether Soderbergh takes himself and the film seriously or not. One could argue either way (the film features Soderbergh the actor making funny faces in a mirror, masturbating in the office restroom, and making off-putting advances towards a woman while Soderbergh the director opens the picture by arguing that it should be seen numerous times and an inability
to make sense of it is "your fault, not ours").

At the end of the day, this is an odd little film from a man who would, just four years later, master his art with dual Oscar nominations for Traffic and Erin
Brockovich (2000). Yet it is this kind of artistic diversity–a
willingness
to experiment without fear of failure–that keeps Steven Soderbergh on a
short
list of today’s most vital directors. Even if none of it makes sense, it confounds
in a way that as the director had hoped, compels multiple viewings.

Grade: B
Similar Tastes: Full Frontal, Haiku Tunnel, Mulholland Drive
Other Reviews: Full Frontal