Marley Shelton Movie:

Editorial Review:
Written and directed by Jonathan Parker, (Untitled) is a successful satire of an art community. Throughout the story--of two brothers with polar-opposite artistic temperaments who lust after their Chelsea "gallerist," Madeleine Gray (Marley Shelton)--the art and artists who populate the New York art world in real life make sneak appearances to blur lines between the filmic façade and reality. When experimental composer Adrian Jacobs (Adam Goldberg) visits Gray's posh apartment, among the silly art props are Takashi Murakami and Christopher Wool pieces. (Untitled) is a romantic comedy, but the more intelligent story lies in its pitch-perfect portrayal of the characters that comprise art commerce. Everyone--from catty gallerist Gray, to pretentious and phlegmatic blue-chip taxidermy artist Ray Barko (Vinnie Jones), to wealthy, trend-vulnerable art collector Porter Canby (Zak Orth)--plays their roles with an acuity that will make art world participants chuckle with recognition. While the bulk of the plot revolves around Adrian's trials and tribulations as he navigates this abstract culture, his brother, Josh (Eion Bailey), serves as Adrian's foil, an artist who longs for conceptual recognition but is cast off into the realm of hotel-art patronage. Scenes unfold at openings, and the drama happens during studio visits or fights between gallerists, or simply in the privacy of the artists' own homes. Those moments when Adrian and Josh struggle with creation reinforce the idea that ultimately, artists just want to make art. The art world in (Untitled) is accurately portrayed as an absurd game in which there are several definitions of victory and loss. It's up to the artists to invent their own versions of success. --Trinie Dalton