Delirious is an unapologetic crime-filled fairytale set against a backdrop of starlets, desperate hangers-on and bloodthirsty paparazzi - a rags to riches tale with a bite.
Les, a small time celebrity photographer, by chance meets the homeless budding actor Toby. These two desperate opposites strike up a friendship when Les offers Toby a place to stay as payment for being his assistant. It works fine until Toby meets the beautiful Brittany-esq pop star K’Harma. She invites Toby into the world every sleazy paparazzi secretly thinks they belong in.
Written and directed by Tom DiCillo, Delirious is a ferocious look at fame and the value our culture continually places on it. He chooses Les, a sycophantic paparazzi photographer, as the centre of the story. His plight highlights the desperate need many feel to belong to the illusive VIP world and the emptiness felt by those trapped inside it. The sickening publicists and managers are apt and so close to the bone. In fact I found a lot of 'Delirious" spot on.
DiCillo, who also wrote Living In Oblivion, was desperate to work with its star Steve Buscemi again. And no wonder. Buscemi offers up a truly repulsive portrait of Les the bottom-feeding photographer, he is such a brave character actor. Michael Pitt as Toby, adds a much needed believable innocence and Alison Lohman was impressive as the untalented but incredibly famous pop diva.
The movie fell short for me in the last third when reality TV is used as a convention for characters to communicate with each other. It felt convenient and not believable which is a pity cause when the film was grounded in truth the satire was so much more effective.
This film is dark, funny and blatant in its disgust for pop culture. 3 stars. Delirious is in cinemas now.
