The Michelle Apartments

 ((CANADIAN))

By BRENDAN KELLY

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An Alliance Intl. presentation of an Arto-Pelli Motion Pictures production, with the participation of Telefilm Canada and the Ontario Film Development Corp. (International sales: Alliance Intl., Toronto.) Produced by Stavros C. Stavrides. Directed by John Pozer. Screenplay, Ross Weber.
 
Alex ... Henry Czerny
Madeleine ... Mary Elizabeth Rubens
Dean ... Daniel Kash
Jules ... Peter Outerbridge
Mrs. Haggerty ...Nancy Beatty
Mr. Turnbull ... David Calderisi
Abernathy ... Ian D. Clark
 

"The Michelle Apartments" is the second feature from British Columbia-born helmer John Pozer, whose low-budget debut, "The Grocer's Wife," earned critical accolades on the fest circuit four years ago. But Pozer's second outing will almost certainly receive a less enthusiastic welcome, as this quirky, dark comedy a la David Lynch is a less than captivating effort that covers "Twin Peaks"-like turf but just doesn't have enough comic smarts. With strong marketing support, it could generate modest B.O. in Canada, but it will be a hard sell internationally.

Henry Czerny plays Alex Hartwell, a government tax auditor who has been sent to the tiny burg of Walton to examine the books at Turnbull Chemicals, a mysterious company whose motto is, "We make the food you eat look better."

Hartwell is a squeaky-clean nine-to-fiver whose conservative ways are severely tested by the strange citizens of Walton. On arriving, he finds that his hotel room is no longer available, so he's taken to the spooky Michelle Apartments, where he ends up in the decrepit lodgings of a woman who died the night before.

Already uneasy, Alex becomes even more agitated when, after a laundry-room mix-up, he receives a pair of purple panties that belong to his sultry neighbor Madeleine (Mary Elizabeth Rubens). Her husband, Dean (Daniel Kash), is an unhinged character prone to violence who is arrested one night after a heated argument with Madeleine. On the job, Alex is beginning to suspect that Mr. Turnbull (David Calderisi), the crazed head of the chemical company, has been fudging the books in a big way.

With Dean still supposedly in jail, Madeleine and Alex are smooching enthusiastically on the couch when who should show up but the just-released Dean. Story takes a turn for the silly here with an improbable death and a series of increasingly wild plot twists.

Czerny does a good job of portraying the proper accountant who's actually not all that clean-cut, and Rubens is steamy and intriguing as the dangerous seductress who brings out her neighbor's passionate edge.

But Ross Weber's script doesn't make it beyond the wacky stage and fails to stir up any real drama. Likewise, Pozer goes for the obvious laughs -- there are some genuinely funny scenes -- but the dark gags wear mighty thin over the course of the picture.

Cinematographer Peter Wunstorf has crafted an appropriately offbeat look, and production designer Lynne Stopkewich adds to the ominous mood with the main Gothic, claustrophobic apartment set.

Camera (color), Peter Wunstorf; editor, David Ostry; music, Mark Korven; production design, Lynne Stopkewich; costumes, Maxyne Baker; sound, Steve Munro. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival, Sept. 9, 1995. (Also in Hamptons Film Festival.) Running time: 91 MIN.