L OCAL TATE THE TIMES - The Last Lullaby · The game is a double-header vs. Airline High School....
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0000416531 RECEIVE UP TO A $1,200 REBATE! Plus 6 months same as cash* when you purchase any qualifying Trane XLi system now through May 29, 2008. It’s Hard To Stop A Trane. *With approved credit. 318-865-2477 FitzGerald Contractors, LLC 7103 St. Vincent Ave. Shreveport, LA 71106 www.tzgeraldcontractors.com 0000415635 861-6996 in Pierremont Mall Line Ave. 861-1770 Ecco New Classic Saddle $225 Golf Casual Cool $170 Golf Comfort The Bradford L.L.C. The Bradford L.L.C. • Plasma ScreenTV • GraniteTopped Furniture •Electric Bed • CableTelevision •Telephone Service•Living Area All Guests Have Access To: Unparalled comforts with skilled nursing care! 0000414313 3050 Baird Road 318-688-1010 03/29/2008 2A CYAN PLATE MAGENTA PLATE YELLOW PLATE BLACK PLATE LOCAL/STATE 2A SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2008 THE TIMES - shreveporttimes.com MARK YOUR CALENDAR (USPS 495-500) Pete Zanmiller President and Publisher 459-3351 [email protected] MISSING A PAPER? If you have questions about delivery or your subscription, call 1-866-979-NEWS (6397), Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sunday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.. You should receive your newspaper by 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. Sunday. If you need redelivery, service hours are 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday; and 7 a.m. to noon Sundays. Saturday, March 29, 2008 170th Year, Vol. 137, No. 123 In God We Trust © 2008 The Times Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. ABOUT THE TIMES The Times is published daily at 222 Lake St., Shreveport, La., 71101. Offices are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 30222, Shreveport, La. 71130-0222. Our main switchboard number is 459-3200. Our toll-free number is 1-800-551-8892. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Times Publishing Co., P.O. Box 30222, Shreveport, La. 71130-0222 SHARE YOUR NEWS Caddo-Bossier: 459-3222 Sports: 459-3292 Business: 459-3534 NEED ADVERTISING? Classified: 459-3333; 1-800-447-3818 Obituary: 459-3487 Retail: 459-3323 Weddings/engagements /anniversaries: 459-3597 LOTTERIES For drawings held on Friday, March 28, 2008 PICK 3: 3-9-6 PICK 4: 1-6-8-4 EASY 5: NO DRAWING LOTTO: NO DRAWING LOUISIANA TEXAS PICK 3/DAY: 3-2-1 PICK 3/NIGHT: 0-6-5 DAILY 4/DAY: 3-1-3-6 DAILY 4/NIGHT: 4-8-3-3 CASH 5: 9-14-29-30-31 TWO STEP: NO DRAWING LOTTO: NO DRAWING Every effort is made to provide accurate data; however, please see your retailer or state lottery office for official verification of results. The Times tries to correct promptly any errors of fact or clarify any misleading information appearing in news stories. To report an error or need for clarification, please call 459-3233. All corrections and clarifications will be published on page 2A. CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS MULTISTATE POWERBALL: NO DRAWING MEGA MILLIONS: 7-26-27-40-43-10 HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Call 1-866-979-NEWS (6397) or subscribe online at shreveporttimes.com. Shreveport & Bossier City area Fri.-Sun./ Sunday 7- Day Holidays Holidays Monthly $16.67 $10.62 $9.35 E-Z Pay* $15.37 $10.62 $9.35 Delivery by mail outside delivery areas will be quoted upon request. Periodicals postage paid at Shreveport, LA. *E-Z Pay automatically deducts monthly payment using credit card, debit card or bank account. NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS Customers of The Times who presently only subscribe to home delivery of the weekend editions of the newspaper also will receive newspaper deliveries on the following dates: New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15), President’s Day (Feb. 19), Mother’s Day (May 14), Memorial Day (May 28), Flag Day (June 14), Father’s Day (June 18), Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (Sept. 3), Columbus Day (Oct. 8), Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Thanksgiving (Nov. 22) and Christmas Day (Dec. 25). These extra newspapers will be delivered without any additional cost to weekend-only subscribers. ✓ CORRECTION: A headline on page 2A of Friday’s Times should have said the college students assisting with building homes with The Fuller Center for Housing of Webster are from Ohio. ✓ CORRECTION: State Probation and Parole Agent Jeremy Ables helped the DeSoto Parish sheriff’s office identify Bobby Harris, the man accused in the death of South Mansfield Mayor Dessie Lee Patterson. Ables was incorrectly identified in Friday’s edition. MARCH 29 MASONIC STATE CONVENTION When: 8 a.m.-noon March 29. Where: Holiday Inn Financial Plaza, 5555 Financial Plaza, Shreveport. Featuring: The 62nd annual Pelican Council of Deliberation and the 36th State Grand Assembly Order of Golden Circle will be held in Shreveport. James O. Bampfield Consistory and James O. Bampfield Assembly No. 53. Evening events open to the public. Annual state awards banquet at 8 p.m. March 29. Info: (318) 402-6432, (318) 631- 9818 or [email protected]. EGYPTIAN CRAFT WORKSHOP When: 1-5:45 p.m. March 29. Where: Sci-Port Discovery Center, 820 Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway, Shreveport. Featuring: Egyptian craft workshop for fourth- through eighth-graders. The students will make their own Egyp- tian-inspired art to take home. Admission: $25; $20, Sci-Port mem- bers, includes all materials and a snack. Registration is required. Info: (318) 424-3466. SHREVEPORT BOSSIER CHAPTER OF PKD FOUNDATION When: 1:30-3 p.m. March 29. Where: PKD Foundation, 1560 Irving Place, Shreveport. Featuring: monthly support and educational meeting for patients and their families while educating the public about polycystic kidney disease. Admission: free. Info: (318) 222-7008 or [email protected]. 2008 ORCHID SHOW When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. March 29. Where: Barnwell Memorial Garden & Art Center, 601 Clyde Fant Memo- rial Parkway, Shreveport. Featuring: orchids on display and orchid plants, supplies and books for sale. Orchids will be judged for ribbons and trophies by judges certified by the American Orchid Society. Admission: free. Info: (318) 865-3848. APRIL FOOLS’ FUN When: 10 a.m. March 29. Where: Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, 8012 Blanchard-Furrh Road, Shreveport. Featuring: Visit the nature park and play “What’s Wrong with This Picture?” Pick up a special field checklist and explore two of the park’s nature trails in search of unnatural objects. Win a prize when you find and record the secret item. Admission: free. Info: (318) 929-2806. 17TH MOPAR NATIONALS CAR SHOW When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. March 29. Where: First Baptist Church, 543 Ockley Drive, Shreveport. Featuring: more than 120 cars, food and music. Admission: free, spectators; $30, car entry fee. Info: (318) 453-7027 or www.Mopar- Magic.org. CAPTAIN SHREVE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS DAY When: noon March 29. Where: Captain Shreve High School, 6115 E. Kings Highway, Shreve- port. Featuring: Captain Shreve High baseball team will sell pink base- ball bats at its first district game in honor of loved ones, teachers and staff. The game is a double- header vs. Airline High School. All proceeds will be donated to the Shreveport-Bossier affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Admission: $10. Info: (318) 458-5221 or www.captain- shrevebaseball.com. HAVEN HOUSE LEADERS’ MEETING When: 10-11 a.m. March 29. Where: 1700 Buckner Square, Suite 240, Shreveport. Featuring: A time for Haven House leaders and friends to fellowship, network, share stories and ideas and celebrate together at the city- wide meeting hosted by Community Renewal International. Admission: free. Info: (318) 560-4271 or (318) 425- 3222. By Alexandyr Kent [email protected] Sleep is hard to come by and chills are aplenty in “The Last Lul- laby,” the feature-length debut for director Jeffrey Goodman. The movie, shot in northwest Loui- siana, debuted Friday at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. The movie stars Tom Sizemore as Price, a sleepless hit man who’s lured out of retirement to kill a high-dollar target. She looks like easy prey until Price discovers she, too, never sleeps, enjoys night swimming, loves guns and battles a restless conscience. The crime drama not only snares killer and contract into a tight, unpredictable love story, it paints an unsettling portrait of a small- town America where gunshots echo into the deep, silent night without answer. “The Last Lullaby” is based on a short story by Max Allan Collins (graphic novel of “Road to Perdi- tion”). Adapted by Collins and co- screenwriter Peter Biegen, the stor y is mostly told through the big, heart-wrenching eyes of the lonely gunman. In the opening frame, we spy Price on his back staring up at the bed- room ceiling fan. With a dead face and a distant stare, it’s reasonable to assume he’s struggling to silence his beating heart of darkness. But the nod to “Apocalypse Now” is a playful ruse. Price doesn’t fear madness. On the contrary, he, like every sane retired man, fears becoming obsolete. We soon see him sit up and slouch slowly to the living room for a pathetic game of solo chess. That’s tedious, so he drives his Jeep to the 24-hour mart to shop. There, he eavesdrops on two knuckleheaded thugs — one packing heat — who’ve kidnapped someone. Responding indifferently to his call for action, Price follows their El Camino to a roadside shack, where inside a young woman is tied to a chair. Price knows their game — ransom — and exploits it for everything it’s worth. In coldly violent, swiftly paced action, Price surgically shoots them down one by one and rescues the girl for his own gain. Unlike most popular crime movies, Goodman’s direction does not gratuitously probe the phys- ical carnage wrought by gunplay. There are no lingering close-ups of gun wounds, for the director does not want us to turn away. Instead, he immerses us in the peril without assaulting us. He sets the distressed hostage (Sprague Grayden) behind an oozing pool of blood. He paces the precision of Price’s marksman- ship with abrupt, alarming cuts. Guided by cinematographer Richard Rutkowski and editor Philip Harrison, “The Last Lullaby” pres- ents a view of vigilante violence that is unsettling but never corrupting, dark but ever illuminating. And that’s just the first 10 min- utes. Six months later, Price is found by Martin, the rich man who had to fork out $200,000 to pay for the hostage’s release. Martin, played with slowly deflating bravado by Bill Smitrovich, wants to hire Price for a new job. Kill Sarah in 10 days, and earn $1 million. The offer is irresistible. Price takes it but soon learns Sarah is just as restless as he. He sneaks into her small town, parks at a coffee shop and spies on her through a window, where he wit- nesses her being stalked by an ex- boyfriend. At her home, he hides in the bushes and watches her while she takes uncomfortable phone calls and rises at night for a moonlit swim in the pool. Sarah doesn’t look like a typical job, so Price waits and slowly builds a connection to this unlikely soul mate. A convincing chemistry develops between Price and Sarah, played by Sasha Alexander. After Price decides to rescue Sarah from her threatening ex-boyfriend in a bar parking lot, their bond grows stronger. They meet for dates. They go night swimming. They cook a late dinner. He learns she has been targeted because she’s the sole witness in an old murder case. He discovers killing her would be like killing his hope of breaking free from the empty hours and days that torment him between jobs. In a career-resuscitating perfor- mance, Sizemore offers a taciturn portrait of a contract killer teetering between indifference and existen- tial collapse. The role is enough to make an audience forget Size- more’s recent fall from Hollywood grace and remember the A-list mys- tique he earned while working for Michael Mann, Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese. Alexander delivers her perfor- mance with deep, tired eyes and creates moments of awkward, infec- tious flirtation with her co-star. Con- sumed by ennui and struggling to find a human connection in a world where she essentially hides for a living, the role will remind movie lovers of the inward-looking New Hollywood heroines who have been absent from American cinema for far too long. “The Last Lullaby” is a bold, bril- liant and inventive first step for director Jeffrey Goodman. He has command of tone that many sea- soned crime directors never dem- onstrate. Moreover, Sizemore’s Price com- pares favorably to the heroes of David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” and Richard Shepa- rd’s “The Matador.” These hit men struggle to find a place in an America that demands nothing of them but violence. That they find purpose in the struggle and sur- viving the nightmare is the wonder of it all. ■ Movie gets four out of four stars. REVIEW If you go WHAT: “The Last Lullaby” at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. REMAINING SCREENINGS: 10:15 p.m. Monday at AMC Northpark 15, 8687 N. Central Expressway, Dallas and 4:15 p.m. Friday: Magnolia Theatre, 3699 McKinney Ave., Dallas. COST: $8.50. For reservations, call (214) 720-0663. ✔ LINK TO THE LAST LULLABY. ✔ LINK TO AFI DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. ✔ LINK TO ALEXANDYR KENT’S LOUISIANA MOVIES BLOG. ‘Last Lullaby’ is haunting portrait of hit man speaking with a People magazine reporter. “I’m so proud of him. He’s handsome. He looks great. He dressed well. He’s got that lovely smile and openness. It is the most important to communicate your excitement and optimism.” With cameras pressed into their faces and questions flying fast and furious, Alexander and Goodman worked the line along with docu- mentary filmmakers, international directors and some recognizable character actors from TV and film. “I’m happy not to be doing this by myself, and having someone as awe- some as Sasha standing next to me,” Goodman said with a big smile. It was important for Alexander, who lives in Los Angeles, to fly to Dallas in support of “The Last Lul- laby.” “We had a wonderful time making the movie,” Alexander said. “I’m very proud and I want to do what I can to support Jeffrey.” Though she gets a bit nervous about watching her onscreen work, the actress was game on a chilly night in Dallas. “It’s exciting to see it with people,” Alexander said. “It’s exciting to see it in an auditorium.” Goodman’s story at the film fes- tival was as much about celebrating a finished movie as it was about per- severance. “I really think it’s 90 percent of it,” Goodman said. Sticking to the project for a decade was not always easy. “There are so many opportuni- ties to kind of go, ‘You know what? This film is not going to happen and I should go do something else.’ But I stuck with it and I had incredible support.” Goodman joined a sold-out crowd at AMC Northpark 15 at 7:15 p.m., just as his movie was scheduled to begin. He was anxious but hopeful the audience and critics would give it a warm reception. That seemed to be a good bet to festival publicist John Wildman, who said the first of three screen- ings was quick to sell out. “It should be a great time. You have the entire town of Shreveport in there!” Joining Goodman and Alexander were friends, relatives, editor Philip Harrison, a few actors and many of the 40 Shreveport supporters who financed “The Last Lullaby.” Movie: ‘I had incredible support’ ✔ LINK TO ALEXANDYR KENT’S LOUISIANA MOVIES BLOG. “There are so many opportunities to kind of go, ‘You know what? This film is not going to happen and I should go do something else.’ But I stuck with it and I had incredible support.” Jeffrey Goodman, director of “The Last Lullaby” Actress Sasha Alexander tries to keep warm on location during filming of “The Last Lullaby” in February 2007 in Shreveport. Greg Pearson/File/The Times ■ Continued from 1A Document: 6ST0200A0329_10865_6E6D.pdf;Page: 1;Format: (14.000 x 23.000 ");Plate: Composite;Date: 29 Mar, 2008 00:38:56;Low Res CMYK
Transcript of L OCAL TATE THE TIMES - The Last Lullaby · The game is a double-header vs. Airline High School....
0000416531
RECEIVE UP TO A $1,200 REBATE!
Plus 6 months same
as cash* when
you purchase any
qualifying Trane XLi
system now through
May 29, 2008.
It’s Hard To Stop A Trane. *With approved credit.
318-865-2477FitzGerald Contractors, LLC
7103 St. Vincent Ave.
Shreveport, LA 71106
www.6tzgeraldcontractors.com
0000415635
861-6996 in Pierremont Mall Line Ave. 861-1770
EccoNew ClassicSaddle $225
GolfCasualCool $170
Golf ComfortThe Bradford L.L.C.The Bradford L.L.C.
• Plasma ScreenTV • GraniteTopped Furniture •Electric Bed• CableTelevision •Telephone Service•Living Area
All Guests Have Access To:
Unparalled comforts with skilled nursing care!
0000414313
3050 Baird Road318-688-1010
03/29/2008 2A CYAN PLATE MAGENTA PLATE YELLOW PLATE BLACK PLATE
LOCAL/STATE2A SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2008 THE TIMES - shreveporttimes.com
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
(USPS 495-500)
Pete ZanmillerPresident and Publisher
MISSING A PAPER?If you have questions aboutdelivery or your subscription, call1-866-979-NEWS (6397), Mondaythrough Friday from 6 a.m. to 5p.m., Saturday 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., andSunday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.. You shouldreceive your newspaper by 6 a.m.Monday through Saturday, and 7a.m. Sunday. If you need redelivery,service hours are 6 a.m. to 10:30a.m. Monday through Saturday; and7 a.m. to noon Sundays.
Saturday, March 29, 2008170th Year, Vol. 137, No. 123In God We Trust© 2008 The TimesReproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
ABOUT THE TIMESThe Times is published daily at 222 Lake St., Shreveport, La., 71101. Offices are openfrom 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Our mailing address is P.O. Box30222, Shreveport, La. 71130-0222. Our main switchboard number is 459-3200. Ourtoll-free number is 1-800-551-8892.
Postmaster: Send address changes toThe Times Publishing Co., P.O. Box 30222,Shreveport, La. 71130-0222
SHARE YOUR NEWSCaddo-Bossier: 459-3222Sports: 459-3292Business: 459-3534NEED ADVERTISING?Classified: 459-3333;1-800-447-3818Obituary: 459-3487Retail: 459-3323Weddings/engagements/anniversaries: 459-3597
LOTTERIES For drawings held onFriday, March 28, 2008
PICK 3: 3-9-6
PICK 4: 1-6-8-4
EASY 5: NO DRAWING
LOTTO: NO DRAWING
LOUISIANATEXAS
PICK 3/DAY: 3-2-1
PICK 3/NIGHT: 0-6-5
DAILY 4/DAY: 3-1-3-6
DAILY 4/NIGHT: 4-8-3-3
CASH 5: 9-14-29-30-31
TWO STEP: NO DRAWING
LOTTO: NO DRAWINGEvery effort is made to provide accurate
data; however, please see yourretailer or state lottery office for official
verification of results.
The Times tries to correct promptly any errors of fact or clarify anymisleading information appearing in news stories. To report an erroror need for clarification, please call 459-3233. All corrections andclarifications will be published on page 2A.
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
MULTISTATE
POWERBALL:NO DRAWING
MEGA MILLIONS:7-26-27-40-43-10
HOW TO SUBSCRIBECall 1-866-979-NEWS (6397) or subscribe online atshreveporttimes.com.
Shreveport & Bossier City areaFri.-Sun./ Sunday
7- Day Holidays HolidaysMonthly $16.67 $10.62 $9.35E-Z Pay* $15.37 $10.62 $9.35Delivery by mail outside delivery areas will be quoted upon request.Periodicals postage paid at Shreveport, LA.*E-Z Pay automatically deducts monthly payment using credit card, debit card orbank account.
NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERSCustomers of The Times who presently only subscribe tohome delivery of the weekend editions of the newspaper alsowill receive newspaper deliveries on the following dates: NewYear’s Day (Jan. 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 15),President’s Day (Feb. 19), Mother’s Day (May 14), MemorialDay (May 28), Flag Day (June 14), Father’s Day (June 18),Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (Sept. 3), ColumbusDay (Oct. 8), Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Thanksgiving (Nov. 22)and Christmas Day (Dec. 25).These extra newspapers will be delivered without anyadditional cost to weekend-only subscribers.
✓ CORRECTION: A headline on page 2A of Friday’s Times should havesaid the college students assisting with building homes with The FullerCenter for Housing of Webster are from Ohio.
✓ CORRECTION: State Probation and Parole Agent Jeremy Ableshelped the DeSoto Parish sheriff’s office identify Bobby Harris, the manaccused in the death of South Mansfield Mayor Dessie Lee Patterson.Ables was incorrectly identified in Friday’s edition.
MARCH 29MASONIC STATE CONVENTION
When: 8 a.m.-noon March 29.Where: Holiday Inn Financial Plaza,
5555 Financial Plaza, Shreveport.Featuring: The 62nd annual Pelican
Council of Deliberation and the36th State Grand Assembly Orderof Golden Circle will be held inShreveport. James O. BampfieldConsistory and James O. BampfieldAssembly No. 53. Evening eventsopen to the public. Annual stateawards banquet at 8 p.m. March29.
Info: (318) 402-6432, (318) 631-9818 or [email protected].
EGYPTIAN CRAFT WORKSHOPWhen: 1-5:45 p.m. March 29.Where: Sci-Port Discovery Center,
820 Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway,Shreveport.
Featuring: Egyptian craft workshop forfourth- through eighth-graders. Thestudents will make their own Egyp-tian-inspired art to take home.
Admission: $25; $20, Sci-Port mem-bers, includes all materials and asnack. Registration is required.
Info: (318) 424-3466.
SHREVEPORT BOSSIERCHAPTER OF PKD FOUNDATIONWhen: 1:30-3 p.m. March 29.Where: PKD Foundation, 1560 Irving
Place, Shreveport.Featuring: monthly support and
educational meeting for patientsand their families while educatingthe public about polycystic kidneydisease.
Admission: free.Info: (318) 222-7008 or
2008 ORCHID SHOWWhen: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. March 29.Where: Barnwell Memorial Garden &
Art Center, 601 Clyde Fant Memo-rial Parkway, Shreveport.
Featuring: orchids on display andorchid plants, supplies and booksfor sale. Orchids will be judgedfor ribbons and trophies by judgescertified by the American OrchidSociety.
Admission: free.Info: (318) 865-3848.
APRIL FOOLS’ FUNWhen: 10 a.m. March 29.Where: Walter B. Jacobs Memorial
Nature Park, 8012 Blanchard-FurrhRoad, Shreveport.
Featuring: Visit the nature park andplay “What’s Wrong with ThisPicture?” Pick up a special fieldchecklist and explore two of thepark’s nature trails in search ofunnatural objects. Win a prize whenyou find and record the secret item.
Admission: free.Info: (318) 929-2806.
17TH MOPAR NATIONALSCAR SHOW
When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. March 29.Where: First Baptist Church, 543
Ockley Drive, Shreveport.Featuring: more than 120 cars, food
and music.Admission: free, spectators; $30, car
entry fee.Info: (318) 453-7027 or www.Mopar-
Magic.org.
CAPTAIN SHREVE BREASTCANCER AWARENESS DAY
When: noon March 29.Where: Captain Shreve High School,
6115 E. Kings Highway, Shreve-port.
Featuring: Captain Shreve Highbaseball team will sell pink base-ball bats at its first district gamein honor of loved ones, teachersand staff. The game is a double-header vs. Airline High School.All proceeds will be donated tothe Shreveport-Bossier affiliate ofSusan G. Komen for the Cure.
Admission: $10.Info: (318) 458-5221 or www.captain-
shrevebaseball.com.
HAVEN HOUSE LEADERS’MEETING
When: 10-11 a.m. March 29.Where: 1700 Buckner Square, Suite
240, Shreveport.Featuring: A time for Haven House
leaders and friends to fellowship,network, share stories and ideasand celebrate together at the city-wide meeting hosted by CommunityRenewal International.
Admission: free.Info: (318) 560-4271 or (318) 425-
3222.
By Alexandyr [email protected]
Sleep is hard to come by andchills are aplenty in “The Last Lul-laby,” the feature-length debut for
director JeffreyGoodman.
The movie, shotin northwest Loui-
siana, debuted Friday at the AFIDallas International Film Festival.
The movie stars Tom Sizemoreas Price, a sleepless hit man who’slured out of retirement to kill ahigh-dollar target. She looks likeeasy prey until Price discoversshe, too, never sleeps, enjoys nightswimming, loves guns and battles arestless conscience.
The crime drama not only snareskiller and contract into a tight,unpredictable love story, it paintsan unsettling portrait of a small-town America where gunshots echointo the deep, silent night withoutanswer.
“The Last Lullaby” is based on ashort story by Max Allan Collins(graphic novel of “Road to Perdi-tion”). Adapted by Collins and co-screenwriter Peter Biegen, thestory is mostly told through the big,heart-wrenching eyes of the lonelygunman.
In the opening frame, we spy Priceon his back staring up at the bed-room ceiling fan. With a dead faceand a distant stare, it’s reasonableto assume he’s struggling to silencehis beating heart of darkness.
But the nod to “Apocalypse Now”is a playful ruse. Price doesn’t fearmadness. On the contrary, he,like every sane retired man, fearsbecoming obsolete.
We soon see him sit up and slouchslowly to the living room for apathetic game of solo chess. That’stedious, so he drives his Jeep to the24-hour mart to shop. There, heeavesdrops on two knuckleheadedthugs — one packing heat — who’vekidnapped someone.
Responding indifferently to hiscall for action, Price follows theirEl Camino to a roadside shack,where inside a young woman istied to a chair. Price knows theirgame — ransom — and exploits itfor everything it’s worth. In coldlyviolent, swiftly paced action, Pricesurgically shoots them down oneby one and rescues the girl for hisown gain.
Unlike most popular crimemovies, Goodman’s direction doesnot gratuitously probe the phys-ical carnage wrought by gunplay.
There are no lingering close-ups ofgun wounds, for the director doesnot want us to turn away. Instead,he immerses us in the peril withoutassaulting us. He sets the distressedhostage (Sprague Grayden) behindan oozing pool of blood. He pacesthe precision of Price’s marksman-ship with abrupt, alarming cuts.
Guided by cinematographerRichard Rutkowski and editor PhilipHarrison, “The Last Lullaby” pres-ents a view of vigilante violence thatis unsettling but never corrupting,dark but ever illuminating.
And that’s just the first 10 min-utes.
Six months later, Price is foundby Martin, the rich man who hadto fork out $200,000 to pay for thehostage’s release. Martin, playedwith slowly deflating bravado byBill Smitrovich, wants to hire Pricefor a new job. Kill Sarah in 10 days,and earn $1 million. The offer isirresistible.
Price takes it but soon learnsSarah is just as restless as he. Hesneaks into her small town, parksat a coffee shop and spies on herthrough a window, where he wit-nesses her being stalked by an ex-boyfriend. At her home, he hides inthe bushes and watches her whileshe takes uncomfortable phonecalls and rises at night for a moonlitswim in the pool.
Sarah doesn’t look like a typicaljob, so Price waits and slowly buildsa connection to this unlikely soulmate.
A convincing chemistry developsbetween Price and Sarah, playedby Sasha Alexander. After Pricedecides to rescue Sarah from herthreatening ex-boyfriend in a barparking lot, their bond growsstronger. They meet for dates. Theygo night swimming. They cook alate dinner.
He learns she has been targetedbecause she’s the sole witness inan old murder case. He discoverskilling her would be like killinghis hope of breaking free from theempty hours and days that tormenthim between jobs.
In a career-resuscitating perfor-mance, Sizemore offers a taciturnportrait of a contract killer teeteringbetween indifference and existen-tial collapse. The role is enoughto make an audience forget Size-more’s recent fall from Hollywoodgrace and remember the A-list mys-tique he earned while working forMichael Mann, Ridley Scott andMartin Scorsese.
Alexander delivers her perfor-mance with deep, tired eyes andcreates moments of awkward, infec-tious flirtation with her co-star. Con-sumed by ennui and struggling tofind a human connection in a worldwhere she essentially hides for aliving, the role will remind movielovers of the inward-looking NewHollywood heroines who have beenabsent from American cinema forfar too long.
“The Last Lullaby” is a bold, bril-liant and inventive first step fordirector Jeffrey Goodman. He hascommand of tone that many sea-soned crime directors never dem-onstrate.
Moreover, Sizemore’s Price com-pares favorably to the heroes ofDavid Cronenberg’s “A Historyof Violence” and Richard Shepa-rd’s “The Matador.” These hitmen struggle to find a place in anAmerica that demands nothing ofthem but violence. That they findpurpose in the struggle and sur-viving the nightmare is the wonderof it all.
■ Movie gets four out offour stars.
REVIEW
If you goWHAT: “The Last Lullaby” at
the AFI Dallas InternationalFilm Festival.
REMAINING SCREENINGS:10:15 p.m. Monday atAMC Northpark 15, 8687N. Central Expressway,Dallas and 4:15 p.m. Friday:Magnolia Theatre, 3699McKinney Ave., Dallas.
COST: $8.50. Forreservations, call (214)720-0663.
✔ LINK TO THE LAST LULLABY.✔ LINK TO AFI DALLASINTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.✔ LINK TO ALEXANDYR KENT’SLOUISIANA MOVIES BLOG.
‘Last Lullaby’ is haunting portrait of hit man
speaking with a People magazinereporter. “I’m so proud of him.He’s handsome. He looks great. Hedressed well. He’s got that lovelysmile and openness. It is the mostimportant to communicate yourexcitement and optimism.”
With cameras pressed into theirfaces and questions flying fast andfurious, Alexander and Goodmanworked the line along with docu-mentary filmmakers, internationaldirectors and some recognizablecharacter actors from TV and film.
“I’m happy not to be doing this bymyself, and having someone as awe-some as Sasha standing next to me,”Goodman said with a big smile.
It was important for Alexander,who lives in Los Angeles, to fly toDallas in support of “The Last Lul-laby.”
“We had a wonderful time makingthe movie,” Alexander said. “I’mvery proud and I want to do what Ican to support Jeffrey.”
Though she gets a bit nervousabout watching her onscreen work,
the actress was game on a chillynight in Dallas.
“It’s exciting to see it with people,”Alexander said. “It’s exciting to seeit in an auditorium.”
Goodman’s story at the film fes-tival was as much about celebratinga finished movie as it was about per-severance.
“I really think it’s 90 percent of it,”Goodman said.
Sticking to the project for a decadewas not always easy.
“There are so many opportuni-ties to kind of go, ‘You know what?This film is not going to happen andI should go do something else.’ ButI stuck with it and I had incrediblesupport.”
Goodman joined a sold-out crowdat AMC Northpark 15 at 7:15 p.m.,just as his movie was scheduled tobegin.
He was anxious but hopeful theaudience and critics would give it awarm reception.
That seemed to be a good bet tofestival publicist John Wildman,who said the first of three screen-ings was quick to sell out.
“It should be a great time. Youhave the entire town of Shreveportin there!”
Joining Goodman and Alexanderwere friends, relatives, editor PhilipHarrison, a few actors and many ofthe 40 Shreveport supporters whofinanced “The Last Lullaby.”
Movie: ‘I had incredible support’✔ LINK TO ALEXANDYR KENT’SLOUISIANA MOVIES BLOG.
“There are so manyopportunities to kind
of go, ‘You know what?This film is not going tohappen and I should godo something else.’ ButI stuck with it and I had
incredible support.”Jeffrey Goodman, director of “The
Last Lullaby”
Actress Sasha Alexander triesto keep warm on location duringfilming of “The Last Lullaby” inFebruary 2007 in Shreveport.
Greg Pearson/File/The Times
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