An Upside Down Tomato
By Steve Herte
Upside Down (Onyx Films, 2012) Director: Juan Solanas. Cast: Jim
Sturgess, Kirsten Dunst, Timothy Spall, and James Kidnie. Color, 100 minutes.
“I love her, she loves me, but I don’t fit her society. Lord, have
mercy on the boy from down in the Boondocks!”
-- “In the Boondocks,” Billy Joe Royal
This
song lyric quite literally exemplifies the story behind Upside Down.
In a dual planet system in a galaxy far away we meet Adam (Sturgess) who lives
on the poverty-stricken planet while Dunst as Eden (I guess Eve would have been
too obvious) lives on the rich planet right above him – in fact a little closer
than the Earth is to the International Space Station. He can see the beautiful
cities with their sparkling lights while he lives in a drab, almost lightless
gray slum exploited for its oil by those in power above. The reason given for
this astronomical anomaly is “double gravity.” Anything belonging to either
planet is irresistibly drawn to its home world and anything transported from
one world to the other (inverse material) builds up so much stress that it
bursts into flame.
Adam
and Eden meet as preadolescents when they both climb to the highest peak on
their respective planets (which oddly enough, are dangerously close). They
speak and fall in love with one upside down and one right side up. Adam tosses
a rope up to Eden and, with it tied around her waist, pulls her down to his
world. They connect for a few moments until her world sends a search and kill (it’s
forbidden to travel between worlds) party. He almost has her lowered to her
mountain peak when he’s wounded and the rope slips. Eden comes down hard, hits
her head and gets amnesia. Ten years later Adam is still thinking of her and
gets a job at Transworld, the only company that has built a skyscraper that
joins the two planets. He uses his invention of a cosmetic facelift cream as
leverage to become a part of the company. The secret ingredient is one he
learned from his aunt, pink pollen from the pink bees. They create it by
visiting flowers from both worlds. Anything made from this pink powder defies
the gravity of both planets.
On
floor zero of the Transworld skyscraper (the mid-point between upper and lower
worlds) Adam meets Bob Boruchowitz (Spall) who sits in the cubicle directly
above him - two huge entire workspaces exist above and below, each a mirror
image of the other. Bob is also an innovator and helps Adam design an outfit
that will allow him to visit the upper world, but only temporarily (remember
the burst into flames bit?). Adam and Eden eventually reconnect (it’s tough,
but she regains her memory) and they go on dates. One lunch is at the Dos
Mundos restaurant, also at the Zero level where there are dance floors and
tables both on the floor and the ceiling (depending on which world you belong
on) with an enormous crystal chandelier in the center. All looks like it will
work out until Bob is fired and he gives Adam his credentials and pass card and
one day the pass card fails. Then in a flash, the authorities know that someone
from “down below” is trespassing and the chase is on.
I’m
relieved that Upside Down was not filmed in 3D because it
would be dizzying to watch. The concept would be best described as Escher meets
Salvador Dali. Mountaintop scenes look very surreal indeed with just a touch of
Dr. Seuss. The opposing stage sets are remarkable and so beautifully created
one would accept them as real despite the physical impossibility of their
existence. The lighting and artwork involved in this film is breathtaking and
the sound track majestic and sensitive at the same time. Dunst does a great job
and Sturgess plays his part beautifully. The special effects elicited a “Wow”
several times during the film. I just would have liked more explanation of the
weird science going on.
There
is some humor in the movie. The director of Transworld is Mr. Lagavullan
(Kidnie), which is (as far as I know) a popular single-malt scotch. Also, not
only does Transworld sound like the name of a familiar airline, the logo is an
almost exact copy of the old blue globe Pan Am logo. Upside Down is a visually entertaining film at a good length if you
can remember not to take it seriously. It’s Romeo and Juliet in
space with an intriguing zero gravity love scene and without the messy death
scene.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Rouge Tomate
10 East 60th Street (5th/Madison), New York City
A
long tomato red banner marks the entrance to this three-year old French
restaurant diagonally across 5th Avenue from the Plaza Hotel
and in sight of the twin towers of the Time-Warner Center across Columbus
Circle. The wrought iron filigree work over the door looks like a dark coronet
until you open it and the breeze blows the heavy red velvet drapes apart and
you appear at the captain’s station. Rouge Tomate is French in name and food
preparation only. The dress is smart casual. The staff is friendly, polite and
eager to serve. The space is bright with blonde wood tables and chairs, white
walls and ceiling and splashes of red here and there. It’s modern in a very Zen
sense. The stairway to the lower level lounge and the restrooms ends in two
square pools of water with red marbles in them. Booths for parties of four are
arranged on the far wall like framed artwork in a museum. I was led to a table
overlooking the stairway. The décor was fascinating.
The
menu features Seasonal Toasts (actually glorified canapés) and Raw Fish and
Shellfish on the left page and Appetizers, Entrees and Sides on the right. I
was delighted to see that of the seven main courses, five were meatless and the
selection in the other categories was equally great for a Lenten Friday. My
waiter, Niko answered my every question – and I had a few – and brought me
perfect Beefeater martini and a glass of water. Another server brought two
tapenades for the bread, one a tomato/red pepper puree and the other ricotta
cheese based. The bread arrived soon after, being a choice of multigrain roll
or a wonderful crusty sliced sourdough. I chose both. Confident that choosing
one item from each menu category would not be too much food I consulted the
wine list over my martini.
The
Spaghetti Squash Toast intrigued me most because I’ve always wondered how it
tasted and considered growing it in my garden. It was the crowning part of a
thin toast topped with Maryland crab and Honeycrisp apple and flavored with
jalapeno and cilantro - delightful. The flavor is light, like a butternut squash
and the condiments did not detract from that. The seafood choice was Nantucket
Bay Scallops served with blood orange slices, raspberry slices, Sicilian
pistachio nuts, pomegranate seeds and watercress, and lightly sprinkled with
Maldon Sea salt. The combination of melt-in-your-mouth shellfish and fruit and
nuts was amazing.
I
couldn’t believe they had a 2005 Pinot Grigio from Slovenia (No Irene, not
Slovakia, Slovenia – one of the countries that used to be Yugoslavia) and the
sommelier, an interesting young woman with an eastern European accent explained
that the Movia vineyard is right over the border from Friuli, Italy, on the
Adriatic. She continued saying that rather than being aged in steel vats, this
Pinot Grigio is aged in oak casks and therefore is more golden and the flavor
is more like a chardonnay. Needless to say, it was delicious and complimented
every dish.
The
appetizer, a Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi with cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, (Black
Trumpet and Oyster) mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and Black Truffle emulsion was
another fantastic dish in a manageable portion (nowhere near the size of one
you would get in an Italian restaurant).
The
main course I chose after waffling over four others was Atlantic Hake a
la Plancha. This is basically a Spanish recipe served with Romanesco
broccoli, Brandade (an emulsion of salt cod and olive oil), basil, a citrus
Gremolata (chopped condiment) and shellfish Nage (broth with white wine and
herbs) – again, perfectly cooked fish and excellent preparation. After four
courses, I was finally becoming sated. Although the desserts came in small and
regular sizes I was perfectly happy with a double espresso and Marolo’s grappa
di chamomile made from Moscato grapes.
The
Rouge Tomate made a splendid first impression and I anticipate future visits.
And,
check out the sinks in the bathroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment