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Little Ashes is Pattinson's Attempt to Expand Past Twilight Fan Base

Comments (8) By Melissa Anderson Wednesday, May 6 2009

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Little Ashes
Directed by Paul Morrison
Regent Releasing
Opens May 8

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Hoping to expand his fan base beyond Twilight-loving tween girls to Chelsea twinks, alabaster beauty Robert Pattinson plays bi-curious Salvador Dalí in this silly portrayal of the 1920s Madrid university days of the painter and his pals, gay poet/playwright Federico García Lorca and gay-bashing Luis Buñuel. Written by first-time scripter Philippa Goslett, Little Ashes (named after one of Dalí's paintings) is a typically bombastic lives-of-the-artists production made even more stilted by having all the actors (including the Spanish ones) speak accented English; the first several minutes contain so much Castilian overlisping that someone surely must have sprained a tongue. Pattinson—first presented as a twitchy weirdo in ruffled pirate shirts and hairdos reminiscent of Antony Hegarty's before a fantastic sartorial makeover featuring costume designer Antonio Belart's pick of excellent sweater vests—has difficulty conveying cracked genius, at one point seeming to mimic Jame Gumb's prance in front of the mirror in The Silence of the Lambs until settling on just bugging his eyes out. Though Dalí's first smooch with García Lorca (Javier Beltrán), in the phosphorescent waters of Cadaqués, is steamy, the pleasures of man-man love—and the movie—evaporate quickly when the wildly ambitious painter announces, "I'll bring Paris to its knees!" after he's conflicted about being on his.

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Comments (8)

zara 05/10/2009 6:07:36 PM

Edward, you�re so hot but too bad as an actor! Seriously, it�s not the ridiculous wig or a moustache that ruining his acting. It�s his lack of acting talent. Two movies and two enourmous failurs. It doesn�t matter at all what his retarded fanbase think or say, no one can�t hide the truth.
carolyn 05/10/2009 6:00:57 PM

Pattinson is ruining the excellent reputation of brit actors. He�s a shame. The reviews are terrible about the film and his acting. The guy should go back to the franchise and never take another role.
terry 05/10/2009 5:57:59 PM

Now it�s clear how BAD this actor is. He�s mediocre in every little movie he�s made. It�s pretty hilarious that his obsessed morbid twi-hard losers want to blame the directors for his mediocrity. Well his fans are not the most sophisticated ones either so...
Pam 05/09/2009 1:43:58 PM

Pattinson is a good actor. Are you basing your opinion of his acting abilities on the horrible direction he received in Twilight? Have you actually seen ALL of the movies he's appeared in? He has great range and ability, but what comes across on screen is greatly dependent on the direction he is given.
donnabee 05/07/2009 5:59:00 PM

This is not an "attempt" by Robert Pattinson to "break out of" anything. Little Ashes was filmed and completed *well before* he was even cast in Twilight.
annie 05/06/2009 1:28:57 PM

Pattinson is pretty likeable as an teen hearthrobe (yes I have my 11 years old swooning at him) but oh man, he is incredibly bad as an actor. It�s unbelievable Hollywood (and his retarded fanbase which include the pathetic Twi Moms!)is trying to push him down our throats, calling him a TALENTED ACTOR, the new this or that. It would be comical if it wasn�t sad.
Trie 05/06/2009 9:27:45 AM

I would second the above comment. Do your research first...it's fairly good practice in your business.
Pam 05/05/2009 7:25:56 PM

You should do a bit of research before you review movies. Pattinson did Little Ashes well before he was even cast for Twilight.

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