Harmony Korine’s new film “Mr. Lonely” opens this weekend, and it’s pretty good. Starring Diego Luna as a Michael Jackson impersonator, it’s probably the artiest art film I’ve seen in a while. The story follows Michael in Paris, where he meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator played by the always amazing Samantha Morton. They go to Scotland to live on a commune with a bunch of other impersonators, and tragedy ensues. There is also a seemingly unrelated side story about nuns that jump out of planes flown by one of my heroes, Werner Herzog. This part I don’t get so much, but Herzog is amusing. At moments I found the films quirky irony too forced, but there are some touching scenes, and I found myself thinking about the characters for a few days afterward. The excellent soundtrack by Sun City Girls and Jason Spaceman from Spiritualized is out now on Drag City. Dig it.
