Flashbacks of a Fool

ANCHOR BAY/STARZ
Street: Nov. 4
Prebook: now
> Conventional rites-of-passage yarn tinged with a little A Star Is Born.

Faded movie star Joe Scott (Daniel Craig), dissipated by a life of excess, reflects on his early mistakes following the death of an old friend. Joe’s reverie takes him back to ’70s Britain, where, as an ambitious young man, one of his complex romantic relationships had tragic consequences. Craig, who produced this stylish directorial debut of rock-video specialist Baillie Walsh, surrounds himself with striking female players (including Claire Forlani, Olivia Williams, Jodhi May and rapper Eve) and cedes generous chunks of footage to young Harry Eden, who plays Joe as a teenager. The film sports some effective sequences but has an air of melancholy that prevents it from being good mass-market entertainment.

Shelf Talk: With a limited U.K. theatrical release and token engagements in New York and Los Angeles, Flashbacks will take most renters by surprise. The film stands a chance of performing well based on Craig’s popularity. It will hit store shelves as the star’s latest James Bond opus, Quantum of Solace, begins its theatrical rollout, so consumer interest in Craig should ramp up quickly.