The best movie movie in years

One expects good writing from David Mamet. "State and Main" does not disappoint. One does not normally expect comedy from Mamet, however. "Oleanna," "A Few Good Men," "The Verdict," and the like all feature good writing but generally heavy, dramatic material. "State and Main" will draw obvious comparisons with Mamet's only other comedic venture, "Glengarry Glen Ross," but it has an entirely different tone. Mamet both wrote and directed "State and Main" and his skill for narrative shines through brilliantly.

This is a "movie movie" - its plot involves the motion picture industry. The plot revolves around a major picture called "The Old Mill" shooting on location in a small town in Vermont. Problems for the crew and the town begin the instant the movie's advance team arrives. Most "movie movies" turn into smarmy parodies of real-life personalities, sappy biopics, or vanity vehicles, but "State and Main" avoids falling in to any of these traps. Instead, it tells an interesting story with interesting people, never becoming too heavy. Subplots abound; they flow in and out of the action in the movie with what seems like effortless grace, effectively creating the effect of an ever-escalating chaos that threatens to completely engulf everyone and everything it encounters.

The best reason to see this film is for the writing, but the acting comes a close second. William H. Macy shines in the ensemble cast as the sharp-tongued, quick-talking, monomanical director. While he seems like a jerk, it's easy to see how he got that way with the number and kinds of problems that he has to solve the instant they arise, which all get thrown at him at machine-gun speed. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a nuanced, understated performance in the nominal lead role. Sarah Jessica Parker and Alec Baldwin are deliciously over-the-top as flaky movie stars. Also standing out brilliantly in a small role is Patti LuPone, who plays the mayor's wife and pops up in one of the many subplots. And we see far too little of Charles Durning.

Rebecca Pidgeon, David Mamet's real-life wife, plays a local townswoman whose relationship with the movie's writer becomes the focus of the film. Mamet loses some of his expert, dispassionate, and sometimes cruel, treatment of characters with her dialogue and the plot's involvement of her. Ms. Pidgeon is certainly pretty to look at and a reasonably good actress, and she plays her role with the right blend of quirkiness and charm. But the humorous scenes involving her tend to have a higher slapstick quotient, which seems out of place in a film that takes the rest of its humor from snappy, witty dialogue and strong, vibrant characters. It is also scarcely believable that she would remain completely uncorrupted by Hollywood's glitz, glamour and wealth, to which every other resident of her tiny hamlet succumbs. There is other, minor nepotism apparent in the film - Ms. Pidgeon's brother plays a television reporter, and Mamet's half-brother has a small part, as well.

This is not a movie for everyone. As mentioned above, the dialogue moves fast. It assumes a certain level of knowledge about the movie industry that not all viewers will have. It will inevitably draw comparisons with "Glengarry Glen Ross" but it is much less depressing than Mamet's earlier foray into comedy. But for the viewer who appreciates intelligent writing and brilliant acting, this is a must-see.