back

San Francisco Chronicle
THAT'S THE TICKET
Edward Guthmann
January 19, 2001

To sustain a career, actors often seek roles that break the mold. Directors also benefit from displaying their versatility with new themes and genres. Take the example of three popular filmmakers.

-- Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic.'' The onetime wunderkind of "sex, lies, and videotape," Soderbergh never repeats himself. With the thrilling "Traffic," he creates a tense, multipanel saga about drug trafficking and America's vain efforts to stop it.

-- Ang Lee, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The Taiwanese auteur made his mark with family dramas ("The Wedding Banquet"), then expanded his craft with a British literary adaptation ("Sense and Sensibility"), and an American middle-class angst ("The Ice Storm"). "Crouching Tiger," his greatest achievement, is a groundbreaking fusion of martial arts thriller and potent drama.

-- Terence Davies, "The House of Mirth." After years of autobiographical portraits, Davies adapted "The Neon Bible," John Kennedy Toole's coming-of-age novel, in 1995. With "Mirth," he applies his subtlety, restraint and sense of tangled passion to Edith Wharton's tragic novel, and delivers a masterpiece.

©2001 San Francisco Chronicle Page C3

THE END

back