Delirious (NR, 2007)

In DELIRIOUS, Les Galantine (Steve Buscemi), a photographer who disdains the "paparazzi" label, refers to himself as a "licensed professional." Les has no pals to speak of -- he thinks friends are just people "waiting around to talk about themselves" -- and he spends his days plotting to catch celebrities in compromising situations so he can make money. When he runs into an earnest, homeless actor wannabe named Toby (Michael Pitt), Les sees a chance to get an assistant for free, offering Toby a makeshift bed and dubious training in exchange for grunt work without pay. But what looks to be the initiation of a young man into the not-so-fine art of "gotcha" pseudo-photojournalism turns out to be a re-education for Les as his and Toby's fragile connection is put to the test. One night, Toby unwittingly finds himself separated from Les and invited into the orbit of superstar singer K'harma (Alison Lohman), a scantily clad, Britney-esque type who lures him into her bed and, symbolically, into a glamorous life in which anything is possible, even for a street kid like him. Jealous, Les feels shunted aside and abandoned, an emotion that's only made worse when Toby deserts him and makes it big as a reality star. Alone again, Les is left to examine his life and finds it wanting. To survive, he displaces his own self-loathing onto Toby, who becomes the object of his murderous rage.

Writer-director Tom DiCillo must not have much sympathy for the paparazzi. In Delirious, he paints them as goodie bag-hungry lowlifes with no taste and little respect for the privacy of their marks. They're dealers in an age where Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are the drugs of choice. If only the film knew what kind of chord it was trying to strike. One moment it feels like a scathing think piece; the next, a surrealistic comedy. Plus, it suffers from a meandering quality that only confuses: Why is Toby so oddly naïve? How does he really feel about everything that happens to him? Why would K'harma be attracted to him?

Still, DiCillo manages to invite viewers into a world that's far more calculated and vapid than anything most viewers have imagined. (Even Les' parents look down on what he does.) The argument that two publicists have over which of their celebrity clients should walk the red carpet first and why is priceless. It's a testament to Buscemi's charms that he can make such a louse appear somewhat compassionate just when he needs it most. He's so masterful at infusing emotion into the smallest of actions -- Les' head hangs in shame; his lips fold into a disapproving line -- that he owns the movie. Pitt, too, holds his own as the innocent slacker with a perpetual deer-in-the-headlights look (though his role is written far too mysteriously). In fact, pretty much everyone in the movie is great (watch for Gina Gershon as a casting director). But unfortunately for DiCillo, a great cast doesn't necessarily translate into a great movie.