And make no mistake, ivans xtc. is a mess. Egregiously long and pretentious opening credits; a terrible sound mix; a palsied, handheld camera; and wildly uneven performances doom this tale of the misspent life and untimely death of Hollywood agent Ivan Beckman (Danny Huston). Stricken by lung cancer not long after scoring his biggest professional coup — when superstar Don West (a hammy Peter Weller) signs with his agency — Ivan in death becomes just another Tinseltown rumor and his funeral an excuse for high melodrama.

A steady camera and more attention to the supporting performances would have served ivans xtc. well. There is a good movie dying to get out here, but the only place where that is truly glimpsed is in Huston's performance as the ill-fated Ivan. After a career as a director (Mr. North, Becoming Collette) Huston — the son of legendary filmmaker John Huston and brother of Anjelica — moves to a spot in front of the camera to great effect. In his first starring role, he commands the screen with a virtuoso turn as a not-terribly-likeable Hollywood player whose humanity shines through when he's forced to face his mortality. It's a stunning performance — and far better than ivans xtc. deserves.

The official Web site for ivans xtc. proclaims "Film is dead." That may be so, but Bernard Rose should understand that video is merely a different format — if he wants butts in seats, he's still required to produce a compelling, coherent story, competently edited and mixed, with generally good performances. With the exception of Danny Huston transcending the indifferent material, ivansxtc. falls far short of that mandate.