Written and Directed by Tim Sutton
Starring: Colson Baker, Megan Fox, and Maddie Hasson
MPAA Rating (if available): N/A
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Showing October 27 at the Philadelphia Film Festival; In theaters, On Demand and Digital November 18.

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

Tim Sutton makes excellent, experimental films that focus more on mood than plot, such as Pavilion and Memphis. He has moved into more narrative filmmaking in the past few years with the outstanding features, Donnybrook and Funny Face. His latest effort, Taurus, is kind of a cross between the two formats as he eschews a strong narrative but also presents a hypnotic character study of Cole (Colson Baker, aka MGK, aka Machine Gun Kelly), a downward-spiraling musician. As a point of reference, Taurus is akin to Gus van Sant’s Last Days; the film riffs on a theme rather than rocks it.

A very early scene in Taurus features an upside-down shot that rotates. It is a visual metaphor for Cole, a rapper whose life feels upside-down to him. (He even says this at one point.) Cole is pretty much a burn-out case, who seems mildly interested in working and completely uninterested in taking meetings about being a brand ambassador for an “irreverent, cool,” product. He panics when he loses his quartz crystal, which contains years of his energy, and he drinks and drugs at every available opportunity. He is mostly insufferable, especially when he shouts at his assistant, Ilana (Maddie Hasson), who shouts back at him in one satisfying scene. However, mostly she is trying to get him to sleep and/or focus on work.

Cole is hard to like, but Taurus is not looking to glorify his character. Baker’s “lived-in” performance, a thinly veiled version of himself no doubt, carries the film even if he is playing someone here that fans of the musician would not want to hang with for 90-plus minutes.

Sutton is observing Cole as he hangs so far out of a car window that his hands can almost graze the pavement or follows him as Cole investigates a house where a crime occurred and makes an unpleasant discovery, and these moments are revealing.

The alienation Cole feels impacts everyone around him and it is palpable because Sutton films almost every scene with a cool, unironic detachment. Consider a scene where Cole is visited by his ex (Megan Fox, Baker’s real-life girlfriend) and their fight is seen through a recording studio’s window, but not heard; the soundtrack has Ilana discussing her recent dating experience. But as Cole picks up a stool in anger, viewers can feel his emotion.

In addition, Sutton employs artfully composed shots of Cole lying on a couch to express his laziness and his malaise. A sequence of the drunk and vomit-covered Cole nearly getting killed crossing the street at night expresses his self-destructive nature. It is only during an interview where Cole articulates thoughtful ideas about music “being like a bookmark,” or discusses the idolatry and sacrifice of celebrity that he lives up to his hype. In contrast, a scene of him being rude to a fan who delivers a pizza to the studio where Cole is recording shows the musician at his worst.

Taurus is not celebrating the sex, drugs, and rock and roll lifestyle, but it does not shine any new light on this world, either. Cole hires some female company for the evening and regrets it the next day. His drug-fueled binge at an adult club with Bub (Ruby Rose), his dealer—whom Ilana is told to keep away from Cole—is seen to be far less glamorous than it looks or sounds. And when Cole does noodle on some music, it is the voice of Lena (Naomi Wild), a singer who collaborates with him, that comes across best in the song he is working on.

Sutton also does not provide much dramatic tension as the film chronicles Cole’s efforts to produce a song over the course of a week. This can make Taurus frustrating for viewers who will get restless watching a character it is hard to care about. However, adventurous filmgoers who appreciate the film’s vibe should find much to admire.