The week leading up to Christmas finds me watching a few movies related to the holiday season that I have put aside during the year. First up was “Powder Blue”, a drama made in 2009. The story is about the lives of four people crossing paths in the underbelly of Los Angeles in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. Jessica Biel is Rose Johnny, an exotic dancer and single parent with a young son in a coma ; Forest Whitaker is suicidal ex-priest Charlie; Ray Liotta is Jack Doheny,an ex-con back in the city after 25 years incarceration and Eddie Redmayne is Qwerty Doolittle, a mortician who has inherited the failing family business. Each of them is looking for something; redemption, love, faith, a second chance. They are filled with fear, guilt, insecurity and most of all loneliness. They meet and interact with one another and also with Lexus a transsexual prostitute (Alejandro Romero) and Sally a newly divorced and terribly lonely waitress (Lisa Kudrow). The movie is very stylized with strong colours, some hypnotic and erotic music tracks and a good pace and atmosphere in the build up to the climax on Christmas Eve. The format is not new; it is very similar to other movies like “Crash”, which weave various threads together in unexpected ways to create an unforeseen fabric. Kris Kristofferson has a small cameo role and Patrick Swayze plays the part of Velvet Larry, the owner of the strip club 'Wild Velvet', where Rose dances. This was Patricks' final work in a feature film before his untimely death due to pancreatic cancer in September 2009. The story has some sad and tragic moments and some uplifting and hopeful outcomes. It may not be what you want to watch to get into the 'Christmas spirit', but it is a good drama reflecting the vagaries of the paths our lives can take, the effects of chance encounters and our power to seize the moment and create happiness in our life. I enjoyed it, but I'm ready for a good comedy next.
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