The Prime Video fantasy series Good Omens is back for yet another season. Originally meant to serve as a limited series, Good Omens sees David Tennant and Michael Sheen play the roles of Crowley and Azriaphale, a demon and angel, respectively, who reside on Earth as representatives of Heaven and Hell. It was a resounding hit on both BBC Two and Prime Video due in part to the utterly charismatic performances by both Tennant and Sheen.
But before Good Omens, before Jessica Jones, even before a beloved tenure on Doctor Who, David Tennant's first theatrical lead role was in a forgotten romantic dramedy from the late 1990s. Titled L.A. Without a Map, it would be Tennant's second ever film role following a bit part in 1996's Jude, with Tennant starring alongside other big names like Vincent Gallo, Vinessa Shaw, and even Johnny Depp. If you've never seen L.A. Without a Map before, you may want to give it a shot.
Tennant Starred in a Romantic Dramedy
You'd be forgiven for not knowing what L.A. Without a Map is. Despite the focus on the titular centerpiece of California, L.A. Without a Map is actually an international production between multiple European countries, with Finland, France, and the United Kingdom all lending a hand. Adding onto this, it was directed by Mika Kaurismäki, a director whose work is relatively unknown in pop culture outside of Finland.
The film sees Tennant playing the role of an undertaker in the British city of Bradford. When a visiting amateur actress, played by Vinessa Shaw (Eyes Wide Shut, Hocus Pocus), shakes up his life with an unexpected fling, he can't bear living without her once she flies back to the United States.
The only reasonable thing to do – in a 1998 romantic comedy, at least – is to make a surprise trip to Los Angeles to ultimately win her over. Being in L.A. sans a map, however, Tennant finds himself in the company of Vincent Gallo (Arizona Dream) and Julie Delpy (Three Colors: White) as he gets accustomed to his new home.
Minus a problematic plot point and some slow pacing, L.A. Without a Map was a reasonable outing for Tennant's first lead role. His character is played relatively straight, made more compelling by the background performances of both Gallo and Delpy. After all, those who disliked the film still conceded that both Tennant and Gallo carried the movie on their combined shoulders. Based on how well he did here, it's easy to see how he could move on from this into bigger projects like How to Train Your Dragon, his multiple runs on Doctor Who, and of course, Good Omens.
Tennant Is a Charismatic Lead
L.A. Without a Map is certainly an unconventional film to make one's debut in. On the surface, L.A. Without a Map tells a story that we've all seen before: a transplant from overseas tries to make it big in California, having loved and lost before heading home with a happy ending. But it's how this story is conveyed through the sum of its parts that makes it so unique.
The entire film's lighting is completely blown out, giving the streets and beaches of Los Angeles a perpetually sunny disposition. A bizarre setup populated with Vincent Gallo's eccentric surfer dude, an appearance by the Leningrad Cowboys, and a plot structure that seemingly meanders around all seems to reflect the kind of bombastic landscape one would expect Los Angeles to be made of.
Some have even described the film as being an outsider's perspective of what they "thought" Los Angeles would feel like, and that sentiment carries over into the viewing experience. It certainly helps that the film was shot on location. A handful of Los Angeles locations, including the Hollywood Park Casino and what is now known as the Sunset Tower Hotel, are all here and accounted for.
It's also worth noting that L.A. Without a Map goes without the typical mushy-gushy humor found in a stereotypical romantic comedy, opting for something with an offbeat edge to it. This is likely due to the source material the film is based on. In addition to co-writing the screenplay with Mika Kaurismäki, Richard Rayner is also a prolific novelist, with L.A. Without a Map being a partially-true novel based on his own experiences.
Is L.A. Without a Map a perfect film? Absolutely not. But, for what it's worth, it's an interesting footnote in the lengthy filmography of everyone's favorite Time Lord. If you're curious to see where David Tennant got his start before the likes of Good Omens, L.A. Without a Map has been regularly floating around streaming services for quite some time now. As of writing, it can even be found on Prime Video, the same service currently hosting Good Omens,