Hey all. Capone in Chicago here, with a couple of reviews of films that may land in your local art house parlor.

THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS

In her second release since her Oscar-nominated turn in JUNO (following last month's SMART PEOPLE), Ellen Page once again stars as a troubled teen of a very different nature in THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS, based on a novel by Maureen Medved (who wrote the screenplay), a film that mixes creative storytelling techniques (namely, a type of split screen) with the tale of a young woman filled with inner torment. Void of most of the humor that Page has been showcasing lately, this movie is a far more serious story about Tracey, whose parents are either too pissed off or depressed to care much about her or her little brother. She lives in a fantasy world that serves to bury her deep-rooted pain.

To say that the plot of THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS is not told in a linear fashion is a gross understatement. This puppy bounces all over the place, but still tells a fairly compelling story about the girl's mixed up world, which is made all the more chaotic when her little brother goes missing on her watch. During her search for young Sonny, Tracey runs into some decidedly ugly characters who mean her harm. For all it's fractured plot devices and split-screen execution utilized by director Bruce McDonald (director of many episodes of "Degrassi: The Next Generation"), the film isn't particularly complicated or deep. If anything, the device makes the story more confusing. But Ellen Page is simply captivating and she always has been. It's simply impossible not to look at her, and since she's in practically every frame of this film, that's a good thing. It's always great to see her dive into new and different roles, even if they are contained in unnecessarily melodramatic messes like this one. The simple fact is, I saw this film about two weeks ago, and it floated out of my brain almost as fast as it went in. If you are a die-hard lover of Page's work, you're still going to consider this a pretty minor work. She's strong and often elevates this otherwise dreary, uninspired film.

AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR

One of the deepest, darkest films I saw at this year's SXSW was this harrowing documentary about the Rev. Carroll Pickett, who served as the chaplain at the Huntsville, Texas, penitentiary where he oversaw nearly 100 executions, and whose job it was (aside from providing comfort to the condemned) to get the prisoners from their cell to the death chamber without incident. You know how people talk about Texas being the execution capitol of the country? This is the facility that makes that true. What people didn't know about Rev. Pickett is that after every execution, he sat down with a tape recorder and detailed the entire process for each prisoner, giving intimate details about last words and the entire process of killing a man. But it was the execution of one particular man, Carlos De Luna, that turned Pickett's life around. The good reverend never believed De Luna was guilty, and now history (and a couple of investigative reporters from the "Chicago Tribune") has more or less exonerated him. Pickett is now an advocate against the death penalty who will speak to any size group on the matter.

Directors Steve James and Peter Gilbert (the team behind HOOP DREAMS) offer us some stirring and haunting words and images to accompany the dual storylines of Pickett's conversion and of De Luna's family struggling to clear the name of their beloved Carlos. I can't imagine the burden such a job puts on a single man, to have those voices echo around your head, and see so many people die right in front of you. How do you tell a man not to be scared of a death rushing up to meet him? Pickett is a fascinating man, and even if you firmly believe in the death penalty, I don't think that will take away from your appreciation of this vitally important film.

Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com