When Will James Toback Be Loved?

James Toback has written some excellent scripts and his directorial debut, Fingers, is one of the very best independent American films of all time. However he also has a reputation for living in extremes, something he gladly admits. He is a noted gambler (rumor has it that his script for Bugsy came about in part as an act of charity by that film's director and Toback's longtime friend Warren Beatty after helped get Toback out of debt), a voracious pursuer of women (shocking he would be friends with Beatty), and a remarkably engaging interview who can tell hilarious stories about moviemaking mixed with astute observations about culture and society (thanks in part to his Harvard education). His most recent films have been mostly frustrating affairs where Toback allows his actors long scenes of seemingly improvised verbal conflict during which he seems to be commenting on his main obsessions - sex, race, sex, class, sex, power, sex, manipulation, and sex. Usually his central character is a very familiar type I like to think of as "TobackGuy". A guy obsessed with his obsessions to the point where he becomes undone because he is unable to control those obsessions and begins harming himself and the people around him. The best of his recent work, Two Girls and a Guy and half of Black and White, work because they either go deeply into the TobackGuy character or because they find a fresh way of addressing the realities of the culture. Which brings us to When Will I Be Loved, a film that in some ways is a departure for Toback. This time around his recognizable male lead is secondary to a woman who is even more selfish and predatory than he is. Played by Neve Campbell the character is a femme fatale in the classic sense - able to control and manipulate everyone around her. What makes her specifically a Toback creation is that she freely admits her interest is in finding out what she can get people to do. Her pleasure in the act itself - be it sex or getting money - is secondary to her need to show off her power over people. The first half of the films contains long dialogue passages that are supposed to establish character, but in fact grow dull pretty quickly in large part because they contain conversations and actions (like group sex in a park) that are overly familiar for any fan of Toback's work. The plot kicks in about halfway through, and it is basically a slight variation on Indecent Proposal. Her boyfriend, played by Frederick Weller from The Shape of Things, sets her up with an Italian media mogul who ends up offering one million dollars to have sex with her. The film is full of conversations that eliminate all of the subtext - the characters freely admit what they want and why they want it - and manages to annoy viewers by keeping classical pieces by Glenn Gould running underneath the most important conversations. The music adds nothing to the scenes and feels like the pretentious equivalent of keeping Kenny Loggins tunes playing during the Bruckheimer films of the 80s. The music does not give the conversations the emotional heft or depth that Toback knows they do not have. So while the film is mostly a misfire, it does hold some interest for those of us who are fascinated by the autobiographical nature of seemingly all of Toback's work. While the Weller character is obviously tha latest incarnation of TobackGuy, he is undone by someone who is even more manipulative than he is. While this could be read as yet another case of TobackGuy misunderstanding the woman (or women) in his life, I actually think the Campbell character represents another aspect of Toback. The woman in this film is Toback's artistic self. As director and writer he is able to control every element of his artistic life - just as she is able to totally manipulate everyone in her path. For me When Will I Be Loved is about Toback admitting to the audience that at this point in his life he cares more for his art than for his more self-destructive influences. Hence her masturbation scene in the beginning is Toback admitting to the world that filmmaking is his ultimate act of self-absorption. While this confession may result in some great films in the coming years, this film will bore most everyone who has anything less than a TobackGuy level of obsession in the ongoing saga of James Toback's life and career.