SXSW 2017: “Daphne,” “A Critically Endangered Species," "Dara Ju" | Festivals & Awards
That believability is completely missing from the horrendous “A Critically Endangered Species,” a film that only serves as a reminder that Lena Olin can still deliver a fantastic performance, even if it's buried in a piece of overwritten nonsense. Imagine the most aggravating pseudo-intellectual, “philosophical” conversation you’ve overheard at Starbucks turned into a one-act play by a college student and you have some idea of what to expect here. But buried in the truly awful script is a reminder that the star of “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” and “Enemies: A Love Story” is still a cinematic force. The title refers to writers and artists, but it could refer to Olin herself, a great actress who has not gotten the parts her talent deserves.
Olin plays Maya, a famous writer who announces that she’s going to kill herself. She has no heirs, and so her estate, including unpublished works, will go to one of the job applicants for the position she’s now advertising. Women need not apply. In fact, she only wants a young man. He better be a good writer, take instructions well, and do a good job going down on her (which, yes, is part of the interview process). The first act of “A Critically Endangered Species” consists of these interviews, as Maya intellectually eviscerates young men and then receives oral pleasure. She speaks about how she comes from “Back when everyone smoked cigarettes and nobody got AIDS” and accuses an applicant of being one of those men who can’t find the clitoris. His response—“A woman’s clitoris?”—being the only time I laughed.
Eventually, Maya finds a pair of bros whom she allows to return to the estate. Of course, they’re oil and water—one is passive and the other aggressive—and Olin acts circles around both young men, throwing the entire film out of whack. And the dialogue, which was once playful, starts to take itself too seriously. “Talking about death is a lot like dividing by zero” being a particularly egregious example. Through all of this clutter, one can see the greatness that still burns within Olin’s acting ability. However, even she can’t save this one. No one could.
