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Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectYou and I didn't see the same movie.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=586533&mesg_id=588377
588377, You and I didn't see the same movie.
Posted by ZooTown74, Tue Nov-15-11 02:26 AM
I can't remember a movie that was so emotional, so sad, so quiet, so grown-up, so heartbreaking and funny -- sometimes all at once.

It's a quiet movie. This is not Up in the Air 2011. This is not Sideways 2011. This is not a rousing comedy about how families are weird when it comes to death stuff. Do not be fooled by the shot in the trailer where Robert Forster tells the young buck, "I'm gonna hit you," then hits him. That was funny, and there are more chuckles where that came from, but this is an almost completely somber meditation on death and family and forgiveness.

The basic setup is that CLOONEY's wife is in a coma and CLOONEY, an absentee husband and father, is charged with rounding up and tending to his two daughters, kids he really has no connection with. Then he finds out that his wife was having an affair. Oh, and then there's the whole deal about a big piece of land that CLOONEY's family wants to put up for sale.

I thought all of the performances were outstanding. CLOONEY anchors it and spends a lot of time reacting to everything that's going on, which is the point. His character is a reactor; he hasn't been around the three most important women in his life, and now the chickens have come home to roost at the worst possible time. His performance is more than just "two hours of being sad." He's sad, he's angry, he's confused, he's befuddled, he's amused, he's exasperated... The girl playing the teenage daughter was very good, as was the younger daughter. I also thought Robert Forster was great.

What struck me was the constant idea that people can say the meanest things to each other in times of crisis. And while some may attribute that to Alexander Payne being Alexander Payne (he did a script pass and got a writing credit along with the two original credited writers), the meanness works in this context. People oftentimes say things that aren't nice when they're faced with the impending death of a loved one. And sometimes the people around the people facing that death say shitty things too. All of that stress has to be expressed somehow. I bought it.

I loved how the story zigs and zags. It's somewhat unpredictable. If I had to quibble with one thing, it would have to be the subplot with the family's parcel of land. Seemed to be too obvious a metaphor, and I was tripped up by a few of the details about it. Maybe I'll understand it more in future viewings.

I really thought the film was dope. It's almost like it was tailor-made for the Oscars. Very moving in spots and chuckle-inducing in others. You might find yourself tearing up more than you laugh. Maybe. Don't want to oversell it.

And those who say that Payne is heartless and mean-spirited would be hard pressed to maintain that stance after seeing this. It's his most heartfelt film. Not necessarily his best, but it's right there.

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