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September 13, 2005
Indie film about so much more than sex
Every so often I get tired of ripping bad mainstream movies to shreds, and when I do, that means its time for me to set a new target: indie films at the Lagoon Cinema.
With choices like The Constant Gardner and El Crimen Perfecto, the evening looked like fun, but then I walked into the wrong theater and saw Junebug. Instead of having my usual easy target, I had a movie
with some substance on my hands, and worse yet, a plot.
How could I tear into a movie whose script was paced with actors who fit into their character’s roles seamlessly? As my friend, who shall remain nameless, said when we were watching, “How could I feel bad for Johnny (Ben McKenzie) even though he’s a jerk to his wife and everyone else?”
I was forced to pay attention the whole timečwhat a bore. If there’s one thing I’ve grown to hate when watching movies, it’s having to examine and evaluate characters with depth. Thankfully I could tune out a little bit when the film got more heavy handed, but each of those moments was so quickly tempered that I didn’t even get to enjoy my mindless vacation.
Further adding to my agony, the plot, revolving around the classic and painfully overused ‘going to visit
the family with a healthy dose of culture shock,’ was also given a new twist. The good ol’ country boy who went off to be a big city gentleman (Alessando Nivola) brings his worldly and beautiful older wife, complete with British accent, (Embeth Davidtz) to a small rural community. The twist is that they come and visit not for any important reason, but by shear coincidence since the wife is there on business.
Now the first question that might come to an observant reader would be: “Then why come at all?”
And to that I’d respond, because this is an art movie, so it must be about something deep, like being a normal person living life. Albeit, the two newlyweds are ridiculously overly sexual, but even that played its own part in characters development through their Americana odyssey. Moreover, when doesn’t an indie movie have a disproportionate amount of sex? But beyond that, the characters, from resentful Johnny to sickeningly positive though not completely aloof Ashley (Amy Adams), hoist a movie on me that isn’t full of stereotypes. The implications of this are that not only does it destroy any chance of gleeful heckling on my part, but it also destroys any opportunity for a coming together of the characters in a pretentious love-fest where everyone is happy and has come together.
In summary, the most painful aspect of this terrible movie was that it was like the real world, but not the MTV kind (which was a total downer). The characters had matured and moved on in life after the prodigal son had left, and showed that they would continue to grow after his visit. Good and bad things happened and, in the end, you couldn’t really say things were better or worsečwhat a load of garbage. I wanted to be entertained and experience suspense which lead to explosions and drama. Instead, I got a cast of decent people who ruined any chance for a ridiculous car chase or race to the hospital. Lame. So if you’re bored on a Saturday night and have absolutely no other options, go out and see The Brothers Grimm starring Heath Ledger, its still kind of new and has a child eating horse!
Posted by msveum at September 13, 2005 01:08 PM