Cheap Esther Kahn (DVD) (Summer Phoenix, Ian Holm) (Arnaud Desplechin) Price

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Customer Reviews of Esther Kahn

Oh, to be an ACTOR
Esther Kahn is an incredible look into the psyche of an actor and the way they are affected by those who are around them. From the very beginning of this film, we are treated to a plethora of childhood experiences that shape the future of Esther. In order to emphasize certain things, irises are used, which acutely point out things that remain in the child's memory.
We see how this quintessentially perfect actress is shaped and formed throughout her life. The film delves into the exploration of what makes her tick. A certain sense of hollowness erupts from each experience. This causes one to realize that Esther didn't really embrace her own independent life to begin with. She fully emmerses herself into someone else's life and takes on other roles that are not her own. This allows her to truly be someone else on stage. It appears as though every face of Esther, since she can really remember, was an act.
When Ian Holm enters the scene, she is so impressed by his abilities, that she becomes his student and realizes that the only way that she can allow herself to become a true actor, is to feel pain and suffering. This opens a whole new door to her, in which we, as the audience are treated to a storm of emotions, erupting into a final play, in which the audience sees just how much an actor can suffer in order to please that audience.

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Great acting, despite slow-moving story.
Esther Kahn could probably have been 10 to 20 minutes shorter without losing any of its depth of feeling and character. However, it still stands as a flawed but involving dramatic piece thanks to the dual performances of Ian Holm and Summer Phoenix in her first lead role. Holm is eternally reliable, hiding cascades of emotional struggle beneath an understated exterior, but as befits the focus of the story, Phoenix is the one to watch, and she rises to the challenge with a brave, uneven but ultimately engaging performance. Slightly awkward in interview (as provided in this DVD's bonus materials section), Phoenix comes to life onscreen, and her explosive moments of turmoil (such as with the wince-inducing glass sequence and Esther's fight with her mother) make for the highlights of the film.

Several pretentious art-film touches mar the film -- the overwritten, badly performed voice-over, for example, as well as the erratic pacing and often choppy editing -- but for a film that aims to explore the psyche of one character, Esther Kahn, the film, succeeds very well and paints a memorable picture of a complex, troubled, and imperfect heroine that we can identify with.