I’m going to get right into it, since I tend to ramble on about stupid shit - I’ll just skip it :)

As many of you who care may know, I got the opportunity to see Ask the Dust last night in Santa Barbara at the Arlington Theatre. First off, I will say that Idina was not there, unfortunately. That’s alright though, it was a long-shot, her being there. HOWEVER, Salma Hayek was there, and she was super cute, and very very tiny. Strange to see her up close and personal, but awesome nonetheless.

I’m going to write 2 separate reviews for the movie. One that has no spoilers, simply some talk about how Idina did/looked/etc. :) My second review will be more detailed, like... haha, an EXACT script of her scenes, since... I... um... *looks around* got something from the movie.

ANYWAYS! Haaaha - choose which review you prefer to read (though if you read the second, then read the first as well - it’ll cover the basic stuff), it’s up to you. And if you have any questions, I can answer them, because I’m sure that I might not touch on curiosities some of you might have. So let’s get started!



SPOILER-FREE Version:

In the film, Idina plays Vera Rifkin, a young woman from the East Coast who once had it all, and then finds herself on the West Coast working as a housekeeper for a Jewish family in Long Beach. That’s her character description briefly - she is extremely eccentric, (occasionally drunk), and possessing an underlying sadness.

Her role is really pivotal to the film and also in regard to lead character, Arturo Bandini (Colin Farrell), who is an Italian writer from Colorado trying to find inspiration and success in early, prejudice, 1930s Los Angeles.

A lot of people will ask how large her role is, and I’ll say right now that it is small. But, I will ALSO add that every single role besides Colin Farrell’s and Salma Hayek’s is small. Colin is in every single scene, and 7 times out of 10, he’s on screen with just Salma. So of course, all the other roles, including Donald Sutherland’s and Dame Eileen Atkins’, are small. *shrug* So... I have no complaints, really. Idina’s ENTIRE screen time, I gather, is approximately 15 minutes, spread over the course of 30 minutes in the middle of the movie. (She first appears 45 minutes in and last appears 1:05 minutes in.)

Umm... oh! Idina looked beautiful. Her hair was short, curled at the bottom, and still a beautiful brown. Her makeup (particularly in her first scenes) was darker, accenting, of course, her cheek bones and jaw line. Pretty think eyeliner, which makes her eyes pop and sink, almost simultaneously. The style of clothing from the 30s really fit her well, and I LOVED her first costume. Her last costume was... ugly as hell, haha, but that’s not her fault - It was this flowery frock dress, and though she looked great, the dress was purposefully cheap-ish.

There’s not a lot to say about her character, because her story is very carefully connected to Arturo’s and the course of the movie. But I will just say that she did wonderfully! Her part is very emotional, and she played it with her whole body. She was one of the most memorable parts (aside from Colin’s gorgeous body, of course ... but that’s just me ;)) - Vera just offered something different in the movie, which as a whole I thought was great, though rather slow. It had an "LA Noir" style (kind of a brighter, more modern style of Classic Noir), and it had heavy narration. The style caused the film to drag occasionally (because it is based off of a great novel, it implemented a lot of that language and style - It very much feels like you're watching a book, if that makes any sense at all.) The filming was beautiful, and rich with yellows and auburn colors to convey the sun nd dust of Southern California. The script was beautiful, once again like reading a book, and Colin and Salma and Donald Sutherland did incredible acting jobs as well. It’s a serious film and deals with a lot of racial issues that existed during the early 20th century, such as racism towards Mexicans, Italians, and Jews. The central love story is between Arturo and Mexican beauty, Camilla (Salma Hayek), which goes hot and cold all throughout the film. In between, Vera plays a very odd part, having an affect on Arturo’s life.


Alright, that’s all I can think of to say about it without spoiling anything else. For those of you who don’t want a LOT of spoilers, but want to learn more, again, feel free to ask (and be specific.)

If you feel you want MORE information (including spoilers), just continue scrolling, but BE WARNED: SPOILERS!

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SPOILER Version:


As a preface, please read the "spoiler-free" review above. I just don’t want to repeat myself extensively. Thanks guys :)

Also, if you are interested in reading MORE than what’s below, I have transcribed everything I could of Idina’s scenes on this page here: IDINA'S SCENES - TRANSCRIPT Please read the disclaimer on that page before reading the transcripts of each scene.

Moving on from her description and acting ability, let me just say that Idina’s character, Vera... is INSANE! At least that’s how she initially appears in the film. Vera literally comes out of nowhere, knocking on Arturo’s hotel room door and bursting in, acting as if he actually has ANY clue who she is. About... 2 or 3 of her scenes go by without her ever introducing herself to him, and she’s drunk out of her mind. (Sound familiar? *cough*justakiss*cough*) :)

So I’ll go through her scenes with descriptions of them, beginning to end, ok? Again, spoilers will be included. K? K.

Like I said, Vera knocks on Arturo’s door, and he goes to open it and BAM! There she is - Stunning and dark. He has no clue who she is, but she acts as if he does. She walks in as he stares in disbelief, and she looks at the pages he had been writing. Then she goes about insulting his work, and proceeds to semi-pass out on his bed. He offers to help sober her up, but she wants to have another drink with him inside. He agrees.

On the way to the tavern, Vera does some very "Idina laughing", and clings to Arturo as if her life depended on it. She proceeds to call him "Darling" like they’re betrothed, and when he doesn’t respond as affectionately towards her, she cries that he’s "Just like the others" and he’s "seen her wounds"... He of course has NO idea what she’s talking about, but after talking to the Tavern’s bartender, he learns that she had been listening to him talk a few nights before in the same place and she had followed him home. Slightly unnerved, he tries to find a way to escape, and with the bartender’s help, he sneaks out near the men’s bathroom.

He races home, thinking he’s lost her, only to find her sitting at his desk when he walks in (this got an ENORMOUS laugh from the audience - Vera is very funny at first, because she’s incredibly odd and totally crazy.) Vera explains she took a cab to his place and just let herself in. While he tries his damnedest to get her out of his room, she begins to accuse him of "knowing" about her, which is why she thinks he won’t kiss her. She explains that she used to be somebody, with a wonderful life on the east coast, but now she’s nothing: a housekeeper in Long Beach. He has no idea what to do to help her, but she begs him to tell her she’s beautiful, just like other women. She breaks down crying, and he honestly tells her that she IS beautiful.

She then decides she’s going to show him what’s underneath her clothing, and though he protests, she insists. Her dress comes off to reveal a white slip, and as it slides down her body (we see her full body from behind as she faces Arturo), it reveals an enormous burn scar going from her left hip all the way across her buttocks and down her leg. He looks away, and as she expresses she’s not surprised, he says that it’s not that bad. He once again comments on her beauty. She’s so moved by his kindness, and even more still as he approaches her and kisses her sweetly.

Embarrassed, she gathers up her clothing and apologizes, racing to leave, but feeling 100% better about herself. After she’s gone, Arturo sees that Camilla’s red flower that he took from her is sitting on his bed with a note attached. The note is from Vera, and a voiceover reads it: "Dear Boy, of course I should have known you’d have a girlfriend. Is she very beautiful? She’s very lucky. Is she also kind and generous? Would she ever allow you to come to Long Beach... if only for an hour?" This experience with Vera makes Arturo realize that there are other women in the world other than Camilla, and though Vera ‘might be crazy’, she’s still a woman of intelligence and beauty.

About 15 minutes later in the film, Arturo decides to travel to Long Beach to see Vera. There he finds her ridiculously happy to see him and eager to cater to his every need. The topic of conversation some how travels to Camilla being his best girl. He denies it, admitting that he insults her every chance he gets and that she’s Mexican. Vera, suddenly and unexpectedly, starts to shake in fear, thinking that if Arturo can be so mean to a Mexican girl, what would he do to a Jewish one! He says that he wouldn’t want to hurt her because he doesn’t even love her. This stops her mid-sob and she asks why he even came, to which he answers that he thought it would make as least one person happy.

She begins to understand that he doesn’t think he can please Camilla, so that’s why he’s so mean. She can sense his virginity at that moment and begins to try to help him express his love for Camilla. She pretends to be Camilla, to be someone whom Arturo can honestly express the love he feels to. Though he doesn’t want to play along at first, Vera seductively convinces him (or distracts him?) with her sweet talk about not being about to resist him. This leads, as you can imagine, to them having sex (which no, we do NOT see, unfortunately, hahaa) - Afterwards, Vera is so thankful and Arturo leaves to take a walk on the pier in Long Beach.

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW : WARNING!

Arturo walks around the pier, watching the games and fun being had. Suddenly, a huge earthquake erupts underneath his feet, splitting the earth and cracking the pier. This lasts for a moment and Arturo quickly returns to Vera’s apartment complex, which has collapsed completely. Police are on the scene recovering the dead. As Arturo watches, he sees them standing over the figure of a woman - we can only see a protruding arm - and they identify the woman as Vera. Arturo, saddened by Vera’s fate, promises her that he’ll write a story for her, creating a life that she deserved to live.