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DÉJÀ VU Send This Review to a Friend
With DÉJÀ VU director Henry Jaglom ventures beyond his customary free-wheeling style into a more-structured story without sacrificing his penchant for delving into the mysteries of character whether the subject is relationships, food or having babies. Here he spins a heartfelt and entertaining story about the romantic quest for elusive true love as Cupid walks hand in hand with fate. His co-writer is Victoria Foyt, his wife in real life and a star in this film.
I am fascinated with the impact of Foyt's face on screen. The camera truly loves her. She brightens "Déjà Vu" with a performance that radiates intelligence and feeling as Dana, who encounters Sean, played appealingly by Stephen Dillane, in Dover, England, while en route to London to join the man she is about to marry. Dana and Sean are drawn to each other as if fated to meet (they are in Jaglom's vision), but can they turn their lives upside down to follow love's obstacle-strewn path?
For good measure, real-life mother and daughter Rachel Kempson and Vanessa Redgrave poignantly play mother and daughter. Typically, Jaglom fleshes out his ode to love and instinct with perfectly cast players, including Michael Brandon, Glynis Barber, Anna Massey, Aviva Marks, Graydon Gould, Vernon Dobtcheff and Noel Harrison. Well-placed humor adds to the entertainment and lightens the angst. The wittly-used music helps define the moods.
It wouldn't be a Jaglom film if there were no meanderings or indulgences of the sort that drive those not on the director's wavelength mad. His films--"Sitting Ducks" "Always," "Eating," Babyfever," "Last Summer in the Hamptons" to cite a few--have always been an acquired taste. Jaglom has amassed an impressive filmography of inventive works loaded with entertaining insights in a free-form style that remains stubbornly individualistic. A Rainbow Film Company/Revere Entertainment Ltd. release.
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