“Hey, have you seen the new movie with Morgan Freeman?”
“You mean the one where he plays himself?”
“Yeah!”
“Man, he always plays himself. That guy’s got no range”
“Yeah, but he actually plays himself in this one.”
“Ohhhh…”
That’s how a conversation about 10 Items or Less, the new film starring Morgan Freeman, which is playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, might go.
Freeman stars as a well-known actor doing research for a role in an independent film. While his character’s name is never revealed, the viewer knows that it’s Morgan Freeman-or an actor very much like him (the viewer just has to imagine that Freeman hasn’t been in, like, a million films over the past few years).
10 Items opens with Freeman driving to the outskirts of L.A. with a less-than-knowledgeable production lackey. During their dry yet hilarious banter it becomes apparent that Freeman’s character hasn’t had much film work during the past four years. While he takes his acting very seriously, he is quick to add that he has had various reasons to not commit to certain projects. Freeman is dropped off at a large Spanish supermarket so he can study the manager closely for his role in the aforementioned film. However, the manager isn’t in, so he befriends a young and feisty Hispanic cashier named Scarlet.
Attending the world premiere of 10 Items or Less was writer/director Brad Silberling (Moonlit Mile, Doogie Howser, M.D.), Morgan Freeman and fellow co-star Paz Vega (Spanglish, Talk to Her). Silberling informed the crowd that the film was shot in a mere 15 days with very little money, bringing him back to his days of Super-8 filmmaking. Then he joked that like his childhood films, he wanted to cast his next door neighbour as the lead, but he wasn’t available, so he settled for Morgan Freeman.
The fact that the film was shot in so little time and on a shoestring budget is inconsequential to its overall impact. After making such a large and involving film like Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Silberling wanted to make something that was more down to earth. What he offers up is a small yet personal story of two seemingly different people who are stuck together for one whole day.
Sure, this kind of film has been done many times before: opposites come together and learn something about themselves. But with this film, Silberling focuses less on plot and more on the mechanics of human interaction. 10 Items or Less shows us how fragile and lonely a Hollywood actor can be, and how a young woman with seemingly no promise can find the confidence to attempt achievement. In a way, what happens on the outside is irrelevant to what happens inside the two characters. What the viewer gets from the first half hour is a somewhat superficial look at the actor and the cashier. Freeman seems condescendingly fascinated by the “little people,” while Scarlet the cashier angry at everyone she sees. But what we soon learn is that both characters have their own problems with commitment. Commitment to their jobs, but moreover, commitment to their chosen paths.
Freeman goes on to show everyone that he does have range as an actor. He plays his character with such child-like enthusiasm, and adult-like sadness. Playing an actor who’s specialty is reading people, he studies everybody, from their movement to what they wear. There are several funny scenes where Freeman’s character innocently tries to read the tag in the back of people’s shirts to see what materials they’re wearing.
While the premise of Morgan Freeman essentially playing himself might at times seem slightly indulgent, the film still works for what it is. Freeman’s character keeps mentioning strong endings, and while the film’s own ending isn’t particularly strong, it is ultimately satisfying and fitting.
MOVIE REVIEW
10 Items or Less
directed by Brad Silberling
Rating: VVVV
