A soul searching comedy

From the hustle and bustle of New York City to the snow-bound streets of Moscow, Cold Souls is a surreal comedy in the vein of Being John Malkovich. Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Giamatti, an actor agonizing over his interpretation of the famously difficult role of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in a new Broadway production. Paralyzed by anxiety, he stumbles upon a solution via an article in the New Yorker about a high-tech company that promises to alleviate suffering by extracting the soul. Giamatti engages their services only to discover that his soul has the size and shape of a chickpea? But when he finds his life without a soul, well, soulless, Giamatti decides he wants his soul back; only to discover that it has been stolen by a mysterious soul-trafficking mule for re-introduction into an aspiring Russian soap starlet. Giamatti is joined by David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck), Emily Watson (Punch Drunk Love) and Six Feet Under?s Lauren Ambrose in this mind-bending response to bigger, better, shinier American consumerism?a dazzlingly inventive comedy which walks a tightrope between humour and gravity, reality and fantasy.