Me & You & Everyone We Know
See, I got it right! Miranda July, the writer/director/star of the above-mentioned film, told Elvis Mitchell that for some reason people get pronoun-addled and can never say the name of the movie correctly. Which at the time seemed pretty feasible. But now that I've seen it, the scene in which the phrase is uttered sticks very clearly in my mind, and I can't imagine it any other way. I guess that's how it should be.
All in all, I think it's a great film - it has the feel of a short story, or a series of intertwined short stories (ala "Short Cuts"), and as July is a short story writer as well, there is a basis for that. The characters were quirky and for the most part that worked - some were a bit too quirky for me to get behind. Have I ever said that? I don't know. I'm usually a fan of anything that isn't cookie-cutter, but there is definitely a point where weird can become just weird and no longer a character.
There were two specific moments in the film when I also felt uncomfortable with what was happening. And, again, I don't want to feel comfortable all of the time. I think I would credit both of these to my own squeamishness. The first is an act of violence early on that I viewed as an act of desperation and violence, but somehow got little reaction from the other characters. I thought it would be something that would prohibit a parent from getting custody of his children, frankly, and it disturbed me that it seemed to have no impact at all on that part of the plot. The second was - well, you will know it when you see it. Suffice it to say that one of these little kids is a bit confused when it comes to imagining what adults think is dirty talk. I think I was most disturbed by watching the young actor say the lines - he is very good, but it seemed almost cruel to make him have to think about what he's saying as he delivers his lines.
I think I'm just a wimp.
It's a really good film, with a perfect example of ugly-sexy in John Hawkes, who has been in a lot of other things I've not seen, like "Deadwood" and "The Perfect Storm." In some scenes he was hot, and in others he looked like Charles Manson.
All in all, I think it's a great film - it has the feel of a short story, or a series of intertwined short stories (ala "Short Cuts"), and as July is a short story writer as well, there is a basis for that. The characters were quirky and for the most part that worked - some were a bit too quirky for me to get behind. Have I ever said that? I don't know. I'm usually a fan of anything that isn't cookie-cutter, but there is definitely a point where weird can become just weird and no longer a character.
There were two specific moments in the film when I also felt uncomfortable with what was happening. And, again, I don't want to feel comfortable all of the time. I think I would credit both of these to my own squeamishness. The first is an act of violence early on that I viewed as an act of desperation and violence, but somehow got little reaction from the other characters. I thought it would be something that would prohibit a parent from getting custody of his children, frankly, and it disturbed me that it seemed to have no impact at all on that part of the plot. The second was - well, you will know it when you see it. Suffice it to say that one of these little kids is a bit confused when it comes to imagining what adults think is dirty talk. I think I was most disturbed by watching the young actor say the lines - he is very good, but it seemed almost cruel to make him have to think about what he's saying as he delivers his lines.
I think I'm just a wimp.
It's a really good film, with a perfect example of ugly-sexy in John Hawkes, who has been in a lot of other things I've not seen, like "Deadwood" and "The Perfect Storm." In some scenes he was hot, and in others he looked like Charles Manson.
posted by medusa at 6:03 PM
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