Detective movies are fairly common, but existential detective movies? Those are harder to come by. Nevertheless, director David Russell brings us just such a movie in the form of I Heart Huckabees, out this week at Regal Cinemas in Brunswick.
I Heart Huckabees follows the well-meaning, if somewhat misguided, Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzmann), a budding environmentalist out to save a few trees in a vacant lot from the evil bulldozers of the Walmart-esque Huckabees corporation, led by the slimy, slick Brad Stand (Jude Law). Albert's idealism and Brad's cynicism feed a long-standing rivalry between the two, which only worsens as the Huckabees Corporation continues to encroach on the nameless city's precious open spaces.
The plot thickens when Albert spots the same incredibly tall African man three times in a week, causing him to ponder the significance of his existence and his work as an environmentalist. To this end, Albert seeks the help of a bizarre couple of existential detectives, Bernard (Dustin Hoffman) and Vivian (Lily Tomlin), who observe Albert in his daily routines in an effort to solve his existential crisis. Mark Wahlberg does an impressive turn as Albert's new friend Tommy, a firefighter so plagued by life's important questions that he finds it impossible to live his life, often neglecting his family and various burning buildings in the process.
Brad's girlfriend, Dawn (Naomi Campbell), the Huckabees spokesmodel, is sweet and vacuous until she too gets embroiled in an existential crisis of her own, at which point she takes to wearing overalls and an Amish bonnet and stuffing her face with baked goods, much to Brad's chagrin. Isabelle Huppert also stars as Caterine Vauban, the French nihilist who is Albert's love interest and Bernard and Vivian's arch-nemesis and former pupil.
The essential plot conflict lies in the dueling philosophies of nihilism and existentialism, but the film's result is an effort at a happy compromise between the two.
I Heart Huckabees moves back and forth between satire, slapstick, and poignancy, poking fun at consumer culture and self-absorption one minute, then shifting back to silliness or to the trite romantic relationships. The result is an intelligent comedy that makes up in thoughtfulness what it lacks in humor. It's not for everyone, but if existential detectives sound interesting to you, you will probably enjoy it.