'Powder Blue' review

Jessica Biel (Credit: Speakeasy Releasing)

The lives of several Los Angeles residents intersect on Christmas Eve: an ex-priest (Forest Whitaker) searches for someone to help ease his pain, a shy mortician (Eddie Redmayne) forms a bond with a damaged stripper/single mom (Jessica Biel), and an aging ex-convict (Ray Liotta) attempts to reconnect with his past. The cast also includes Lisa Kudrow as a lonely waitress, Patrick Swayze as the strip club owner, Kris Kristofferson as the convict’s contact and Sanaa Lathan as the priest’s former lover.

The buzz: Uh, Jessica Biel plays a stripper and dances naked on stage. That’s already made this long-delayed movie a small sensation online. But considering the film has that going for it as an obvious selling point, is there reason to be worried that it took nearly two years to find its way into theaters? And the DVD release is already set for May 26?

The verdict: “Powder Blue’s” quasi-mystical attempts at moving melodrama aren’t exactly unwatchable, they’re just never very convincing. Biel seems to think she lucked into some sort of indie Oscar bait, tearing into her role with a ferocity that isn’t justified by the ethereal approach of director Timothy Linh Bui. The fact that she plays a stripper is simply an extension of her commitment to the part. It’s not likely the actress is comfortable with her nude scenes (which are neither lengthy nor discreet) being used as a selling point, but Bui fails to provide much else worth discussing. Only Kudrow’s supporting turn suggests the potential for more—there’s a natural warmth to her character that hints at a life more interesting than what we see on screen.

Did you know? One entirely non-plot related question the movie raises: What’s up with Whitaker’s infatuation with disappointing crisscrossing-lives dramas? From “American Gun” to “The Air I Breathe” to the upcoming “Winged Creatures” (which promises more of the same), he seems to be on a one man quest to attach himself to the next “Crash”—a dubious choice to replicate in the first place.