Touch
Touch
In the early 2000’s, video stores were still a power to be
reckoned with. Sure, VHS tapes were on the way out with the rise of the DVD,
but we still called them Video Stores; it just rolled off the tongue easier than
DVD Store. And it was during one of the regular visits to my local Blockbuster,
strolling down the aisles and perusing the walls of movies that a cover for a film
caught my attention. The title was simply, “Touch” and I recognised one of the faces
on there straight away.
Skeet Ulrich had broken into the movie business with
his chilling turn as Billy Loomis, the boyfriend of Sidney Prescott in
“Scream”. The sharp featured, handsome young actor was instantly compared to
Johnny Depp, and many even touted him as the next Depp. But after Scream, he
popped up in a few carefully selected roles to show audiences he was not the
next Johnny Depp, but a capable character actor in his own right. And with his
movie star good looks balanced by a natural and smooth acting style, he showed
early on his range was versatile.
Around the same time as his break into movies, “Get Shorty”
was doing the rounds as one of the best movies of the 90’s. Faithfully adapted
from the popular novel by Elmore Leonard, it portrayed characters on the
underside of Los Angeles; characters who you may look at initially as smug,
suss and sinister, but under the surface, showed there was more to them than
just appearances. And Touch, also based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, was no
different. The book, released in the late 80’s but set in the 70’s, finally
became a movie in the late 90’s. Unnoticed by most, watched by a few and loved
by just a handful, this is the first film of my 20’s, despite it being released
several years before that. But it was an accidental discovery which was a
refreshing viewing experience to me, given the nature of the films subject.
The setup is simple; Ulrich plays Juvenal, a social worker
and religious guy of sorts who quickly reveals that he has the power of healing,
just by touching others with his hands. The after affect is he then suffers
from Stigmata, bleeding from his hands and sides of his body. For a long time,
he’s managed to keep this covered up, until chance would have it a former
preacher gone bankrupt and now selling RV’s, gets wind of Juvenal’s abilities,
and sees that as his opportunity to hit the big time again. This savvy
entrepreneur is played by none other than the incomparable Christopher Walken.
In the 90’s, Walken made a name for himself in a large array
of supporting roles, most famously in “Pulp Fiction”. Here, he plays a major
part, a character called Bill Hill. Desperate to find his way to make a million
bucks, Bill Hill tries to track down the young miracle worker, but he’s being
protected by a local priest. So, Bill calls in a favour from his friend Lynn, a
young beautiful girl who used to work for him. Played by Bridget Fonda, who
carries herself with an effortless charm and natural beauty, she can work her
charms on the naïve Juvenal but also finds herself falling for him.
The other interesting addition to this already eclectic cast
was Tom Arnold. Known these days as an ageing comedian and occasional reality
TV star, he got his break in the early 90’s by being married to Roseanne Barr for
some time. He popped up on her hit show a few times, then went on to star in several would be comedies. Most of his films were clunkers, showing that the
“actor” just couldn’t pick ‘em. But he does very well in Touch, in the role of
August; a leader of a religious group called O.U.T.R.A.G.E. (Organisation
Unifying Traditional Rights As God Expects). Wearing a neat grey uniform, and
parading around town with his brochures, he is as straight and narrow as they
come. A man of strong religious conviction, and close friend of Juvenal’s, who
doesn’t like the pretty blonde Lynn arriving on the scene or the business
tactics of Bill Hill in exposing Juvenal’s to the world for his own gain.
Put all these characters together in the mix, and you get a
humorous, character driven tale of love, religion, miracles, and daytime talk
shows. It’s not like any other film you’ve probably ever seen, and I fondly
claim it as a film of my twenties because I simply discovered it by accident,
but it also showed me the potential of telling unique stories in the medium of
film, done cheaply and differently. It was in the immediate years after
finishing high school that I was seriously considering a career making my own
movies. Touch was inspiring to me for its low-key feel, independent and
Arthouse look, and that it relied heavily on dialogue to tell its story. Such
is the way with any Elmore Leonard book, which if you’ve read one you’ll know
he is a master of spinning yarns with pages and pages of characters talking.
But it’s done in a way that drives the story forward. Get Shorty adapted this
extremely well, and Touch does a pretty good job too.
I’ll admit, it’s not a film for everyone, with it’s obscure
story, based on characters who are all religious in some way, and it has no major high points in its running time. It doesn’t distance
you; take my word for it, if you sit down with no expectations and an open mind
you will find yourself quietly drawn into this little film and left thinking
about a few things. But it does end rather casually, and it will breeze in and
out of your life quickly. I guess it stayed with me because it was a case of
watching a movie I had no idea existed, had no intention to see or would have
looked for if someone told me about it. Despite that, I fell in love with this
film, and can proudly call myself one of the few who know about it, and have
watched it many times. It used to be a lot easier to find when video stores
were around, and in my search for it to write this series of reviews, nowhere
in Melbourne stocked it. So, I went to my old friend eBay, and found the only
copy available for sale online. Shipped all the way from England, it was in
mint condition but will only play on my Blu-Ray DVD player in the living room.
Even with the rise and rise of Netflix and streaming movies
online, there’s still a place for DVD’s, and I will keep this one. And even
though movies on video cassette are now well and truly a thing of the past, I owe
it to those old monuments called “Your Local Video Library” for bringing me
this film and earning its spot in my life.
Now, copies of this film are hard to come by. I couldn't find the trailer on line or even any clips that would give you an idea of what it was about. So, here's the song from the opening credits, composed by Dave Grohl in the early days of "The Foo Fighters"
Comments
Post a Comment