The Egyptian writer and intellectual (Ahmed Amen) said once that "our great pains make us great". This nice independent movie reminded me of this aphorism extremely.It's a very simple story about an artist who lives hard life; the worst of it is being insecure for all the time. The lack of success, the absence of self-confidence and the stumbling to find the true unique art in him pushes such a character to compel his love to leave him, as he got nothing to present to her. He had to face his pains ultimately to discover the real artist in him. To be close to the great he longs for or already has.For most of the time, I suspected that this fellow would find a magical lamp that could solve all of his problems. Or that the movie would sink under these problems horrifically. However I was happily wrong. It delicately brings out the case of anxiety which young artist like this suffers from.There is a sense of simplicity that overwhelms the whole movie beautifully. It shows its experience without a whit of intricacy or allegation. Actually, it attacks the allegation heavily; watch that carefully with the surprising confrontation of (Ray) the landlord near the end, or through the character of the lead at one of the post-ending scenes. Look also at the 2 critics who just appear to speak about deeper changes while they do nothing but setting and speaking ! They miss the unstoppable chances to feel life and live its pains to discover themselves and recreate these pains into art/great changes. They're the deadest people this movie exhibits, and the total opposite of its lead. It's what makes the movie, as a whole, one of few anti-allegation movies. The comedy, the romance; everything was sensitive and expressive. It had some truthful details, sweet atmosphere, and a lovable diurnal feel about it.This cast did its job finely. I watched many independent movies where the performance was discreditable, but not this time. (Mark Ruffalo) understood his character; being between the desperate young artist and the slapstick performer (let's thank this script for some of the character's genuine funny moments). Observe well how he says "sorry" to his love at the final scene only by his eyes ! (Beth Ulrich) is an exceptional creature. OH MY GOD she's god's gift to movies. There is poetry between her short tufts and her shoulders. In other words, she's too charming, giving this movie the magic it seeks, and most of all : talented. She was a delicious smile all the time, mirroring not only her character's loveliness but also ingenuousness and fondness of life, assuring that there are still people like that in our life ! Also I loved the scene, after her lover turned his back to her, in which she goes and asks him to spend the night with her friends and he just replays languidly through half-opened door; her face's reaction was perfect as refusing, not understanding, and blaming his act all at once. Sure you'll ask yourself repeatedly where is such an actress in Hollywood movies or even else ?! Though, there are a few shortcomings along the way. For instance; the movie didn't use the building's diverse characters well enough. The lead's interaction with those characters, so what he would learn from them, wasn't well made, or made in the first place. The situation of "the lead delivering pizza and got mocked in the elevator" recurred tastelessly! Plus I didn't like the closing credits' shots; I think that was made to show the continuation of life after the events' end, as a factor that may fill it with reality, avoiding labeling it as just romantic dream. But they were mostly silly and some of them had been done in sort of self-references I couldn't understand ! The original title, (Life/Drawing), says it all. As if life is just pain and creation out of that pain (So no wonder when half of the word painting is pain !). It's more profound and significant than (Apartment 12) which I believe the movie-makers accepted it as more commercial and inspiring (giving you the feeling that it's a Horror or a Thriller!).Finally, while (Ruffalo) blasted off into Hollywood movies, making a decent career throughout the 2000s; the movie's heroine, so the movie's director and co-writer (Dan Bootzin), didn't make anything after it (till 2009) !! Well, life is pain, they said it themselves. But I see that they lived that pain too much up till now !

Recently I wrote about "Just like heaven" and talked about the great Mark Ruffalo; specifically about the comedies he's making these days so people can get to recognize him. I also said that I hoped he'd get back in track soon, to what he does best. "Life/Drawing" (or "Apartment 12") is a film every fan of the actor's got to watch. Ironically, it is a comedy (with a slice of drama), but it remains far away from the big studios.Here they'll find Ruffalo at his best acting qualities; with the show all for himself, the camera right on his head, the simplicity in all its extension…An actor like Ruffalo looks for movies like this one, about frustrated artists and lonely human beings. This was four years before "Just like heaven", but his character also has a breakdown here, and stays in bed watching television and eating ice-cream.Other than Ruffalo's fantastic character driven performance as Alex, there's nothing much interesting inside this picture. Directed by a now disappeared (did nothing after this) Dan Bootzin, the piece shows the lives of several person that inhabit the same building. Ray (independent figure Alan Gelfant), the manager who's a sexist scumbag; Sylvia, the crying neighbor who cooks and desperately seeks for love and the new girl Lori (Beth Ulrich), who captures Alex's heart.A mysterious tall guy who speaks Spanish is always standing and wandering mumbling things in his own language that try to explain a lot. A prostitute who lives besides Alex goes out every night and does this with a different outfit (nurse, police officer). Bootzin observes quietly, slowly. His camera is omnipresent and not at all ambitious; it lays back, creates the environment, and moves faster in a very funny scene where every inhabitant does his thing rapidly. His edition is quick and easy; it leaves a lot to desire.Bootzin's screenplay, which he wrote alongside a female colleague, is flexible as life itself. It allows us to watch his characters sitting down in the porch with a cup of hot coffee at 10 a.m. in the morning. It allows us to see how culture and education influence a relationship; because Lori went to the army and Alex paints, and Lori doesn't know how Jackson Pollack was. In fact, as Ray correctly observes: "Nobody knows who Jackson Pollack was".This artistic side of the main character played by Ruffalo, which seems to be the core of the character piece, is not extensively developed. His painting is, as many say, "soulless"; or at least at the beginning, because then Alex finds the artistry inside his feelings.Even when in the end every character has a big smile in their face, the music inspires happiness and the whole ride has been pleasant, there's a feeling of disappointment. A feeling related to things that could have been present but weren't; to a depth that was intended but didn't appeared.

Alex is a painter, each of whose canvases is just one big window-sized slab of yellow (or red, or whatever color it happens to be). Not only his art but his life lacks inspiration: his one-man show is not to be, his girlfriend just walked out, he's moved into a building full of oddballs and he's back delivering pizza to pay the rent. I expected this flick to turn into a sitcom, but it got better as it went along, developing characters and relationships, especially the one between artsy liberal snob Alex and his new neighbor Lori, whose magnum pistol, martial arts skills and utter lack of sophistication generate the contempt he has for her, despite the fact that they're having a physical relationship. Throw in the wacky neighbors, like the bathrobe-clad Lothario/one-man Greek Chorus who wanders the halls and delivers his observations in Spanish, the super-nosy super, the big-busted strip-o-gram girl, the horny, man-devouring Biddie and a couple of others and you've got funny and touching portraits of a by turns lovable and unlovable loser and the colorful characters in his orbit. Don't know why, exactly, but this story reminded me a bit of Steve Buscemi's terrific "Tree's Lounge" - another indie about a loser and his odd pals. This one's cute and it's got a happier ending. For the price of your admission you get "early" Mark Ruffalo (2001) in an affecting role and cute, largely unknown Beth Ulrich, who's a find.

Slow and predictable because it ends like most movies in this genre. Beth Ulrich plays a surprisingly refreshing girl next door, but Mark Ruffalo plays a common role and does an average job at it. There is good chemistry between Ulrich and Ruffalo which really makes the movie worthy of being watched at least once. I think what's odd is this overall sense of dread that you get from the first 4/5ths of the movie. There are parts of this movie that will provide a bit of chuckle. Unlike some movies in this genre, it's not much of tear jerker. However, it should leave you feeling a little warm and fuzzy.I would recommend this movie to anyone who has experienced heartbreak or just has a rainy day to spend away.