Joe Gould's Secret

That Joe Tucci would choose to do a project based on the work of Joseph Mitchell comes as no surprise to me. Mind you, any thinking actor could have done it but Tucci has that New York grit and curiousity as a performer which make him a natural for the material. It also should be said he's damn fine film maker and I wish he'd get behind the camera more often. This deals with a journalist for The New Yorker (Mitchell/Tucci) who has a gift for writing about the average man on the street. When he comes across Joe Gould his life changes forever in a rather shocking fashion. The great Ian Holm is once again spectacular as the possible genius Gould but it is how Tucci handles the transformation of Mitchell that struck me as most important. We've seen many films of this ilk from THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE to THE SOLOIST but somehow JOE GOULD'S SECRET struck me as more authentic than most. Marks the last film to date so far for Little Nell Campbell and fine support work from Hope Davis and Halle Hirsh with cameos from Steve Martin and Susan Sarandon.