The Matador

The second film I saw at the Starz Denver International Film Festival was The Matador. Overall I was disappointed with the film. I didn't care much for the directors style. He was also the writer and the writing was good as was the basic story. There were some things in the story I would have liked to have explained better. I thought it was rushed a bit towards the end. And while I normally don't mind Greg Kinnear (he's not way up my list of actors though either) I really did not care for him in this role at all. He was not the right compliment to Pierce Brosnan. Pierce however was great. This was such a different role for him. I loved seeing him play someone icky. It was a great role for him that will hopefully show people he is more than just the sauve guy in a suit.

The writer/director Richard Shepard was present and did an audience Q&A following the screening. Nice guy. It's also worth noting that Greg's character lived in Denver and he said he did that because his wife is from Denver and he loves the area. However, due to budget constraints he was not able to shoot in Denver. (I won't even go into my tirade about that right now. That is a seperate entry all together.) It was interesting to learn that he ended up making this film because Pierce and his production company requested a sample of his writing because they were considering hiring him to write another project. Then when pierce read the script for The Matador he wanted to make it. Also he's worked on a couple movies with the always wonderful Maura Tierney. He wrote and directed a movie with her and Adrian Brody called Oxygen and produced a movie with her called Scottland, PA. He is also working on another movie for her. Always worth keeping an eye on someone who will give that woman work.

I had to pay more than a usual full price ticket to see this movie and it was not worth that price. Truth is it is really only worth matinee price and the only reason it would be worth more is for Pierce.