New Movie Wicker Park Takes Unconventional Approach to Love

By Alan Silverman
Josh Hartnett heads the handsome, young cast of a romantic mystery of love found, betrayed and found again. Alan Silverman has a look at Wicker Park.
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The age-old warning that "love makes fools of us all" drives the convoluted¹ plot of Wicker Park, named for the Chicago neighborhood where the characters live. Young photographer Mattie, played by Josh Hartnett, sees dancer Lisa, played by German-born actress Diane Kruger, and he is smitten².
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"The thing that I relate to most in the character is that fine line you have to ride between love and obsession³," explains Hartnett.
Josh Hartnett believes anyone ever touched by love can identify with Mattie's predicament.
"I love this girl. I want to show her how much I love her; but at the same time it's a slippery slope that can go to this place of total obsession."
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Mattie eventually wins Lisa's heart and Diane Kruger says the course of their relationship also rings true to her.
"I certainly think that many things in life, especially in love, have to do with timing⁴. I've been in a position where you feel very strongly about someone and that other person just doesn't or can't make the time or it's just not the right time in his life or vice⁵ versa. I believe that there is a time for everything in life, so you just cross each other's paths and you can't take that same road, even though somehow you want to. It just doesn't work out all the time and I think you know you've found someone really special when you do walk down the same road.
But, to borrow Shakespeare's line, the course of true love never did run smooth. In the case of Lisa and Mattie, it's because of a third person: an aspiring⁶ actress named Alex, whose obsession with Mattie pushes her to sabotage⁷ the relationship. Australian actress Rose Byrne co-stars as Alex.
"I think everyone has their obsessions⁸ in life with people or whatever it may be: it's just the degree of control we have over them [and] how much rationale or strength we have over ourselves. This character in the film has none of that," Byrne says.
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In a style that is becoming more popular with filmmakers, Wicker Park plays out in a nonlinear fashion. Instead of presenting the plot in chronological⁹ order, Scottish-born director Paul McGuigan reveals important details by replaying key scenes from the romance in flashback.
"It's a mystery. It's a romantic mystery. I don't know if that's a genre¹⁰. I just made that one up 'romantic mystery but that's what it is: romance and the mystery is 'what is going on?' I was really interested by that. When I first got the script I couldn't make head or tail of it; and that's the way I wanted to present it to an audience. I didn't want to dumb it down."
Wicker Park is adapted from the 1996 French film L'Appartement. In fact, a gourmet¹¹ restaurant in this new film is named 'Bellucci's' in honor of L'Appartement star Monica Bellucci. Co-star Diane Kruger admits knowing that film helped her manage the many plot twists.
"I live in France and had actually seen the original when it firstly came out so I knew what the movie was about. It is certainly a movie that requires the audience to sit up and really watch what's happening. It is intentional¹² that is confusing at times. You don't know if it's a flashback or present time. That is certainly one of the challenges when you shoot it because you have to make sure that it has continuity."
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Wicker Park also features Matthew Lillard as Mattie's best friend and an unwitting pawn¹³ in the romantic mystery adapted from the French original by screenwriter Brandon Boyce. The film was shot in Montreal, with the wintry Canadian city standing¹⁴ in for Chicago.
Alan Silverman for the Voice Of America in Hollywood.

注释：
convoluted 费解的
smite 重击
predicament 困境
Shakespeare 莎士比亚
obsession 迷住，困扰
sabotage 破坏
nonlinear 非线性的
chronological order 年月日次序（顺序）
unwitting 不知情的
pawn 被人利用的人

 

1 convoluted   

adj.旋绕的；复杂的

参考例句：

• The snake slithered through a convoluted path.蛇在羊肠小道上爬行。
• The policy is so convoluted even college presidents are confused.这项政策太令人费解，甚至连大学校长们也是一头雾水。

2 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

3 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

7 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

8 obsessions   

n.使人痴迷的人（或物）( obsession的名词复数 )；着魔；困扰

参考例句：

• 95% of patients know their obsessions are irrational. 95％的病人都知道他们的痴迷是不理智的。 来自辞典例句
• Too often you get caught in your own obsessions. 所以你时常会沉迷在某个电影里。 来自互联网

9 chronological   

adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的

参考例句：

• The paintings are exhibited in chronological sequence.这些画是按创作的时间顺序展出的。
• Give me the dates in chronological order.把日期按年月顺序给我。

10 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

11 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。

12 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

13 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。