Somewhere Tonight

At first glance, middle-aged Leroy and agoraphobic Patricia don’t have much in common – except perhaps their stereotypical, unhappy lives. Of course they also suffer from unsatisfied desires, but after somewhat improbably hooking up over an adult chat phone line, their relationship might quench those urges. Both characters have problems with social interaction, and they can sometimes behave abnormally, but the film, tending towards humanism, shows their folly as beautiful and undeserving of censure. Wisdom can be found in Leroy’s behavior, which likens him to Chance from Hal Ashby’s legendary film Being There (1979). The picture portrays the characters’ phobias with loving understanding, never exploiting difference even while it remains a key characteristic. Somewhere Tonight was inspired by murdered Dutch director Theo van Gogh’s 1994 film 06, whose Interview inspired the Steve Buscemi remake of the same name. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)