The Waiting
Room (*)
review by Jon
Waterman
Ahmet is an extremely popular director who has won critical
acclaim and a large fan base. He’s currently working
on a film adaptation on Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and
Punishment.” The script is probably ready, but the project
seems to be missing something. Ahmet is in deadlock with himself
and is on the verge of tossing the production completely, when
he comes across a young man trying to rob his house. He lets
him go, but later thinks that this could be the answer to his
long, sulking nights. Now, in order to save the film and his
mind, Ahmet must search the city to find this criminal (and
convince him to act).
Writer/director Zeki Demirkubuz also plays Ahmet. Perhaps
this was one too many tasks for him to take on this time around.
The film just doesn’t do it for me. For one, I hated
the main character. He’s a total jerk to everyone he
comes in contact with. He’s completely self-serving and
I don’t know how any audience member could possibly sympathize
with him. Perhaps this is Zeki’s idea of a general commentary
about filmmakers. Even so, that doesn’t make it any more
entertaining or interesting. Because we don’t even want
to like the guy we’re going to spend the length of the
picture with, we don’t care about the film as a whole.
The movie is called “The Waiting Room” for a reason.
You’ll be waiting for something to happen. For a long
long time. There are many time consuming shots, which I would
contend were included to get the film up to a normal feature
length of 94 minutes. I can understand that it’s supposed
to convey loneliness and despair and all that great, melodramatic
stuff. But here’s the thing: It’s boring! Maybe
if the cinematography was a little more interesting or even
properly conveyed the thoughtfulness of Ahmet, it would be
better. As it stands, there are a couple of unique shots and
some slightly appealing lighting choices that get overshadowed
(forgive the pun) by the tiresome wait. The last shot of the
movie was so excruciatingly painful to watch, simply because
it was obvious that it would be the closer, yet it refused
to cut to black.
It’s supposed to be about making a movie, but it’s
more about us making sense of Ahmet. That much I can respect.
The rest, not so much. I’m trying to figure out the significance
of “Crime and Punishment.” Having not read it doesn’t
help. So far, I think it’s meant to convey the audience’s
feelings by the time they walk out of the theater. This one
drained me. Don’t wait around. Move on.
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