NDSU Spectrum: Video review

‘Lost and Delirious’ a delicate character study

By JOHN HANSEN

Dec. 7, 2001

It’s hard to believe that love and betrayal, themes that date back to the very roots of literature, could still make for an engrossing film, but that’s exactly what happens in “Lost and Delirious.” This affecting character piece — in a reflection of what’s become an all-too-common trend — didn’t come to smaller markets like Fargo, but it will hit video shelves Tuesday.

Written by Susan Swan and Judith Thompson and directed by Lea Pool, “Lost and Delirious” is not your standard coming-of-age tale. Pauly (Piper Perabo) and Tory (Jessica Pare) are roommates at Perkins Girls College and they are also lovers. While the issue of homosexuality inevitably plays a role in the film, it is at heart an old-fashioned tragic love story.

The audience surrogate is Mary B. (Mischa Barton). Shy, introspective and sad, Mary tells us her feelings through voice-overs reminiscent of “My So-Called Life.” Eventually, she helps out the campus gardener (Graham Greene) and reveals some of her feelings to him.

All three characters have parental issues: Mary’s mom is dead, and Mary sometimes forgets what she looks like. Tory hates her parents’ upper-class stuffiness, but she fears losing them if they learn of her homosexuality. The adopted Pauly is searching for her birth mother, and we can see that Tory is the only person keeping her sane.

Those parental themes play as a subtle backdrop to the perfect romance that inevitably goes sour. The writers have found a clever way to keep this old story fresh: in addition to following Tory and Pauly, the viewer is also following Mary’s reactions to what’s happening with Tory and Pauly.

The acting is nicely understated. If versatility is a sign of great acting, Perabo deserves an Oscar. She’s best known as the sweet lead in “Coyote Ugly,” but her character here is a complete 180. With her hair chopped short, she looks like Jack Noseworthy, and she speaks in a nasally voice like Paris on “Gilmore Girls.”

But it’s Barton who’s asked to carry the film, and she does. She has a natural, soft lovability that probably won her the role — the casting directors knew the audience would follower her anywhere.

When the journey of these “Lost and Delirious” characters comes to a close — after all the love and betrayal and metaphor and tragedy — we may not have seen anything new, but we know we’ve seen one fine piece of filmmaking.

Title: “Lost and Delirious”

Starring: Piper Perabo, Mischa Barton, Jessica Pare

Written by: Susan Swan and Judith Thompson

Director: Lea Pool

Grade: A-