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Bug (2006)

Director: William Friedkin

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From Time Out New York

Tracy Letts’s 2004 Off Broadway play about conspiracy theories and codependent relationships doesn’t exactly scream “comeback vehicle”for somebody like New Hollywood golden boy William Friedkin. It takes place entirely in a dingy motel room, which leaves scant opportunity to stage car chases down Brooklyn avenues or Los Angeles freeways; X-Files–ish rants or not, there’s no place to drop in a demonic 360-degree head turn. But Friedkin’s take on this tale about a lonely waitress (Judd), a mysterious stranger (Shannon) and some serious heebie-jeebies showcases the stylish, screw-tightening precision that made the director’s early-’70s work such a rush. Friedkin appears to have rediscovered a sense of purpose. You can say it, fans: Finally!

Credit the story’s geographical confinement. Talented but fatally indulgent and scattershot—his output over the last two decades has been largely miss-and-miss—Friedkin is forced by the material to conjure dread through minimal means. What’s surprising is that he rises to the challenge so thoroughly: Every tracking shot, eerie slow-zoom and claustrophobic close-up feels perfectly in sync with the characters’ shared delusions descending in a downward spiral. Which isn’t to say that Bug is within swatting distance of flawless; both Judd and Shannon start off subtle but end up laughably histrionic, and several touches are a bit too derivative (didn’t someone else use that ceiling fan–helicopter noise trick somewhere?). But Friedkin’s ability to ratchet up the tension without losing sight of the play’s human element goes a long way. He’s delivered a properly paranoid love story for a very paranoid age.

Author: David Fear 2007-06-14 17:15:34

Time Out New York Issue 608: May 24–30, 2007