ftAWOOMIDOU Concert on campus The University Symphony Orchestra will be performing tonight at Hill Auditorium. The free show is a good opportunity for members of the community to feed their intellects and, at the same time, show some appreciation for the hard work of numerous University students. The concert wilt be directed by Kenneth Kiesler, and it begins at 8 p.m. Tuesday October 1, 1996 10 a Innovative new indie flick walks tall y Kelly Xintaris Daily Arts Writer In the independent film "Walking and Talking," rookie writer / director Nicole Holofcener bravely tackles that most perplexing of human relationships - female friendship. Amelia (Catherine Keener) and Laura (Anne Heche) have been best friends R E since their pre- pubescent days of leafing through "The Joys of Sex." Flash forward to 1996 New York, where Amelia works in the classifieds section, and Laura does counseling en route to becoming a certified therapist. As they approach the big three-oh, both women stand on opposite ends of the dating spectrum. Amelia, the chron- ically single one, has a tendency to make men the center of her universe. Her ex-boyfriend, now platonic friend. Andrew (Liev Schreiber) even tells her, "You made me too important." At the peak of her desperation, poor Amelia finally gives in to a date with Bill (Kevin Corrigan), "the ugly guy who works at the video store." Meanwhile, Laura is on the verge of marriage to Frank VIEW Walking and Talking At State (Todd Field), a jew- elry designer with a mole on his chest. This physi- cal detail is actu- ally an important plot point, because its poten- tially cancerous existence causes a dow, Andrew uses her money to pay for phone sex with a California woman, and Bill never calls her back after a one- night stand. Laura feels attracted to other men, including Peter (Randall Batinkoff), a really bad actor. What are the girls to do? Obviously, these story elements are not prime material for any earth-shat- tering revelations. Holofcener manages to maintain interest, however, with a remarkably original, often amusing script. While there are no cardboard cut-out types of characters to be found, some of the shorter scenes seem extra- neous, such as Laura's conversations with a pseudo-schizophrenic patient (Vinny Pastore). When Amelia, feeling neglected, finally confronts Laura, the scene fails to capture the sense of drama that Holofcener clearly intends. In an ambiguous ending, the friends finally make peace with their respective neu- roses, not to mention their respective men. Though the film may not conclude up to par, delving into the lives of truly interesting characters - people who may seem all too familiar - is enter- taining enough. Indeed, the most impressive gift that "Walking and Talking" offers is its superb acting. As the soul-search- ing, obsessive Amelia, Keener ("Living in Oblivion") turns in an absolutely stellar performance. Heche ("The Juror"), who bears an uncanny resemblance to Carole Kane, also delivers as the self-involved bride-to- be. Corrigan is perfect as Bill, the video store clerk whose nerdy friends drool over Amelia at a horror-buff convention. The way he discovers how Amelia refers to him is perhaps the film's most hilarious scene. Schreiber, yet another standout, reels in the laughs with his portrayal as Amelia's oblivious ex. After all is said and done in this film, you walk out remembering these char- acters the most. If you don't recognize people you know (or yourself), in Holofcener's creations, you probably never will. rift in their relationship. Laura, a super- control-freak, can't stand the sight of the thing, setting the stage for such dia- logue as "Give me my mole back!" (Don't ask.) The plot centers on Amelia's fears of losing her childhood friend to Mrs. sta- tus, and Laura's doubts about Frank not being Mr. Right after all. To top that off, Amelia's dying cat falls out of her win- McDowell makes the t jump to prime time Catherine Keener and Anne Heche in Nicole Holofcener's "Walking and Talking." 'U' prof's first thriller fails to give the slightest chilli Los Angeles Timeq HOLLYWOOD - Malcolm McDowell is back in school. The British actor made an indelible impression in Lindsay Anderson's con- troversial 1968 film "If ... ," as Mick, the smirking, rebellious upperclassman at a rigid boarding school. Twenty-eight years later, McDowell is now a member of the academic estab- lishment. As Rhea Perlman's nemesis in the new CBS comedy "Pearl," McDowell's Stephen Pynchon is a bril- liant, pompous humanities professor who makes life a living hell for his stu- dents, especially Perlman's Pearl Caraldo. 7 "Pynchon," McDowell muses, "is a bit of a monster. I think he's really mean. He has such an ego!" On a recent lunch break, McDowell is relaxing in his dressing room on the Hollywood lot where "Pearl" films. Though his hair is now white, McDowell still possesses that famous smirk. He's far less intimidating than his screen image. Adorning the white walls are por- traits by his wife, Kelly, of Anderson and Stanley Kubrick, who directed McDowell in the landmark 1971 film, "A Clockwork Orange." "Lindsay Anderson's really Stephen Pynchon - very, very much inspired by him," McDowell offers. Not only did the late Anderson direct McDowell in "If ... ," "0 Lucky Man!" and "Britannia Hospital;' they were also close friends. "He was always very, very good with actors, very supportive of actors and made sure that they felt confident;' McDowell says. "But when you got past that and became his friend, if you said something stupid, he would let you know about it: 'Don't be so ridiculous. Good Lord. How old are you and you don't know that? Did you have an edu- cation or anything?" Pynchon's only saving grace, McDowell says, is the fact that he's a great teacher. "How many teachers do we remember?" McDowell asks. "Just the ones who really inspired us." Malcolm McDowell (pictured in "Tank Girl") makes the jump to TV. McDowell laments he never attended college. "I was so sick of education and being at a closeted (private) school;' he says. "I just couldn't wait to get out. I got a place to go to university in Sussex, but I said, 'That's it. I want to earn my own money.' I couldn't take it any- more." McDowell is busy learning how to play the sitcom game. "I just live the life of a monk, basically," he says with a smile. "I come here and I have to learn lines all the time. Theater is a- piece of cake. With this, you have to slogger these lines to get them in because I have huge chunks of speeches. It has to look sort of effort- less." Paul Damien Death At C Minor Commonwealth Publications Ever wonder what evil lurks in the mind of the average University profes- sor? Paul Damien, on faculty at the Business School, sets the demons free in his first thriller, "Death At C Minor." The novel features an endless parade of murder, booze, torture, corpse mutila- tion and classical music. Despite these obvious draws, "Death At C Minor" is bloated and boring. The thriller's most glaring flaws are its unnecessary plot twists and its tedious moral asides. Damien tried to write a high-toned thriller by incorpo- rating fine wine, interna- tional conspiracies, leftist politics and huge chunks of poetry intor the story line. He- even struc- tures "Death At C Minor" around Dante's "Inferno." However, these additions contribute little to the plot and make his characters seem pretentious instead of refined. It doesn't help that Damien makes his central characters into pathetic poster children for political correctness. The characters' extended pious dialogues about governmental corruption, homosexuality, AIDS and a host of other evils detract from the plot and are just plain annoying. "Death At C Minor" has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Surprisingly, Damien's ending is much better than the rest of the book. His choice of psycho is adept - I couldn't guess the conclusion before- won't have enough patience to wade through the rest of the novel to reachi'it. If only the author had ex6rcised breity and restraint, perhaps he could have fashioned a more stimulating thriller: - Mary Tromble" Bill Bryson Notes from a Small Island:, Affectionate Portrait of Britain Morrow Books An The Daily Arts section is still looking for writers to cover Books, Fine Arts, Music or Theater. Please call Dean, Li-e or Tyler at 763-0379. Readers who haven't been lucky enough to go to Britain - or who ha been, and miss it already - have foun a most welcome book in Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island." Though it's not a compre- 2 hensive 'or in - de p th look at Britain, 0 makes enter- taining reading as an American's humorous tribute to his adopted coun- try. Bryson begins the book by explain- ing how, before moving back to the United States, he decided to take a seven-week journey through the British Isles - "a kind of valedictory tour around the green and kindly island that had for two decades been my home" Bryson's route leads him from Dover i the northernmost point in Scotland, stopping at numerous pubs, inns and landmarks in between. Bryson displays intense interest in everything he comes across, which greatly enlivens the book, but now and then he takes things a little too serious- ly. In a chapter on Oxford, he expostu- lates about its unsightly modern archi- tecture; in the next, he laments t destruction of hedgerows in the Cotswolds. Readers will no doubt lose track of how often he discusses 'the homogeneity of British cities - they all seem to have "the same shops, libraries, and leisure centers, the same pubs and television programs, the same phone boxes ... .' Bryson makes a strong and valid point about the erosion of traditional British culture, but after a while it becomes repetitive and exce sive. But despite the occasional didactic lapse, Bryson proves to be a sharp and witty observer of British life. Throughout the book, he offers vivid descriptions and telling details that enable readers to picture his entire jour- ney. Equally as interesting are the anec- dotes that could only happen in Britain. Where else, for example, could ,o find "walking guides" in a bookstore. And where else would there be two sorts of walking - "the everyday kind that gets you to the pub and, all being well, back home again, and the more earnest type that involves stout boots, Ordnance Survey maps in plastic ________________________________________________________ I.