Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

The Trip: British comedians battle egos over dinner ****1/2

 

British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon battle in a rollicking road trip through northern England in The Trip. Michael Winterbottom’s comedy is a lighthearted adventure that meditates on family, career and what really matters.

The Trip is irresistible as divorcee Steve convinces family man Rob to join him for a week-long road trip to visit England’s best restaurants in Yorkshire and The Lake District. Steve is writing celebrity restaurant reviews for The Observer, who will pick up their tab.

Coogan and Brydon (who also matched wits in Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story) share great chemistry. Before we know it we’re hooked on where they’re going, what they’re eating and which actor they’ll send up next. The film engages our imaginations despite a bare-bones plot (Steve has a decision to make).

Laugh-out-loud adventurous and easygoing, this is a thoughtful comedy more sophisticated than the average mockumentary. It’s all improv, originally shot as a BBC mini-series. Winterbottom and editors Mags Arnold and Paul Monaghan earn high praise for adapting it to the big screen.

Fame is fickle for the friendly rivals, who compete in real life. Coogan (24 Hour Party People) has pursued Hollywood roles (Around the World in 80 Days) with less acclaim. Brydon enjoys great popularity in England. He’s renowned for one routine seen here: “Help me! I’m a small man stuck in a box!”

Coogan fusses and fumes. He’s pulled in several directions as he phones his elusive girlfriend Mischa (Margo Stilley), his American agent (Kerry Shale) and his wayward son. Hurting, he mimics Brydon’s “small man” in the mirror.

 
 

Meanwhile Brydon coasts along, confident. The banter turns philosophical as they sing and play “what if." Coogan drives. The Trip is fanciful and endearing when compared with darker, moodier Sideways (2004).

Scrumptious and beautifully designed cuisine becomes the focal point as the insults roll. We glimpse behind-the-scenes food preparation in some of England’s best restaurants. Scallops, duck, pigeon and micro greens are served. The two visit Hipping Hall, L’Enclume and The Yorke Arms.

At their most side-splitting, Coogan and Brydon compete with dueling impressions of famous Brits like Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins and Richard Burton. Woody Allen, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are mimicked. Observing Best Actor Colin Firth’s success, the two ponder just how far they would go to win an Oscar.

The funnymen meet literary tradition when they visit Dove Cottage where William Wordsworth lived. Touring Samuel Coleridge’s home nearby, they recall his opium addiction. “I’d rather have moments of genius than a lifetime of mediocrity,” Brydon declares.

Northern England is beautifully filmed, mirroring the travelers’ psyches with rolling hills, meadows and ancient limestone outcroppings. Man’s eternal quest ranges from primordial to modern days.

There’s a quiet, reflective moment when Coogan arrives at a limestone bluff. He savors the awesome landscape and its natural sounds. Although it's soon interrupted, the moment is like a deep breath. That intimacy between man and nature is rarely captured on film.

Coogan sows his wild oats, seducing several ladies during their overnight stays. He calls himself a British Don Quixote. “Women are my windmills. I tilt at them,” he quips.

At an old cemetery Coogan delivers Brydon’s eulogy, but quickly leaves before his friend can reciprocate. On their way home, they visit Coogan’s parents. It’s a heartwarming interlude, but one that the son is eager to flee.

Being human can be funny, sad, frustrating and occasionally transcendent. The Trip is an allegory for life that honors England and creative artists everywhere. Assuming a modest place in history, Coogan and Brydon take life – and themselves – lightly.

If you like The Trip, you might enjoy: Midnight in Paris; Barney’s Version; Cedar Rapids.

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The Trip     2010  /  NR  /  1 hour, 51 min

Cast Overview:  Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Margo Stilley, Rebecca Johnson, Dolya Gavanski, Kerry Shale

Director:  Michael Winterbottom

Genre:  Mockumentary, Comedy

 

Terri: John C. Reilly feeds teen's big, hungry heart ****

 

Terri stands apart from The Art of Getting By and Submarine for one reason: John C. Reilly. The coming-of-age dramedy hinges on Reilly’s Mr. Fitzgerald, a vice principal who cares about kids in trouble. Jacob Wysocki stars as Terri, a huge oddball with a confused, hungry heart.

Reilly’s straightforward, unforgettable character walks his talk. He owns his own disappointments and shortcomings. Mr. Fitzgerald doesn’t pretend to have it all together, but he knows enough to share his homespun philosophy. When obese Terri lands in his office for daily tardiness, he sets up a weekly meeting to mentor the pajama-clad, good-hearted teen.

Terri’s inner monster is big, odd and misunderstood. He lives in a messy old house with Uncle James (The Office’s Creed Bratton, very good here) who’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Terri takes care of his uncle tenderly.

Trapping mice in the attic is necessary and gives Terri something to do. Glum and bored, he loiters in the woods each morning, watching his offering of dead mice on a log. When a raptor arrives, Terri yelps with excitement. It’s the first revelation of the big boy’s spirit.

An encounter with the bird of prey also sets this movie apart. The raptor is said to symbolize vision, power and guardianship. Connecting with nature is another way the boy heals. Mr. Fitzgerald suggests a new life perspective: “I like this person. I look forward to these days.”

Wysocki is extraordinary, an actor of imagination and warmth. Terri makes slow and painful progress. He aches, stumbles and has wise insights. He wants to fit in as he struggles to be himself. Patrick Dewitt’s understated dialogue rings perfectly. “The feeling is no feeling,” Terri tells his mentor.

 

Terri hangs out with two other outcasts, publicly shamed Heather (Olivia Crocicchia) and hair-pulling misanthrope Chad (Bridger Zadina). The trio reveals risky delight, a weird foray into friendship and experimentation. All three succeed with plain-spoken honesty. Director Azazel Jacobs captures odd beauty in this and other scenes.

Mr. Fitzgerald talks about life and possibilities from his heart and his gut. Reilly makes the character unique as a caring, competent man who admits his own shortcomings. The unapologetically odd vice principal grows on us throughout the film.

Terri finds Mr. Fitzgerald passed out in his car one Sunday morning in the school parking lot. He’s had another fight with his wife. The two share quality time, raiding aspirin from the nurse’s office and shooting hoops. The school’s motto towers above them in the gym: Pride. Tradition. Excellence.

In The Art of Getting By and Submarine, mentors are marginal and never fully developed. Here youth and age are both honored. Mr. Fitzgerald throws Terri a lifeline, and the teen gives him the opportunity to practice his life’s calling. There’s a boy within the man, and a man within the boy.

When Fitzgerald betrays the boy’s trust it’s devastating. He transforms the moment by apologizing. “Life’s a mess, dude, but we’re all just doing the best we can.”

In an imperfect world, Terri ends with a quiet, transcendent moment. This is not a feel-good movie, but one that celebrates flawed humanity and hope.

If you like Terri, you might enjoy:  The Art of Getting By; Submarine; Cedar Rapids.

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Terri     2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 27 min

Cast Overview:  Jacob Wysocki, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina, John C. Reilly

Director:  Azazel Jacobs

Genre:  Drama, Dramedy

 

Beginners *****

 

He may be late for the party, but Hal celebrates like it’s 1955. Smart and bittersweet, Beginners stars Christopher Plummer as a 75-year-old gay man who has just come out to his son Oliver (Ewan McGregor). Two parallel love stories are told. 

Beginners is masterfully directed and written by Mike Mills, whose own father came out late in life. Explored are the connections between father and son, father and new friends, son and father’s boyfriend, and son and girlfriend. This is a film of visual grace with a sensitive, vulnerable and thoughtful quality.

Plummer gives a vintage performance as Hal, a man who married for love in the hope that he could smother other desires within him. Fun-loving yet dignified, he’s diagnosed with cancer. The last few months of Hal’s life are reenacted with whimsy and directness, accompanied by Vaudeville tunes. “I don’t want to just be theoretically gay. I want to do something about it,” Hal says. As friends visit his sunny sickroom, he claims he’s getting better.

 

Patterns, shapes and forms represent life and love. After Hal’s death, Oliver adopts Arthur, a Jack Russell terrier who is more philosophical than most people. As Oliver talks with the dog, Arthur replies in subtitles. Their true friendship weaves low-key humor throughout the film.

Sex. Nature. Images of the sun, the sky and presidents past and present fill the screen. Oliver sketches faces of old girlfriends with captions. When he creates a sketch book for a rock band The Sads, they’re not taken with his images. All they wanted was an album cover. Sadness is unique for everyone. Oliver needs to savor and learn from it.

As Oliver begins seeing French actress Anna (Melanie Laurent, the theater owner in Inglourious Basterds), McGregor reveals insecurity and wisdom. The two meet at a costume party not long after Hal’s death. He’s Sigmund Freud. She’s Charlie Chaplin. He’s depressed. She has laryngitis. Playful and tentative, they explore each other and the world. He tells her about his father. “For the first time I saw him really in love.” 

Goran Visnjic is dark, intense and boyish as Hal’s young lover Andy. Hal must learn some new customs when Andy goes out on a date. “At least I’m the Number One boyfriend,” Hal tells his son wistfully. A scene between Oliver and Andy after Hal’s death is particularly moving.

Simple yet deep, Beginners discovers despair, emptiness and happiness. Deep, reflective characters live in a sweet, sincere film that will merit attention during Oscar season.

If you like Beginners, you might enjoy:  Barney’s Version; The Kids Are All Right.

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Beginners     2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 44 min

Cast Overview:  Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller

Director:  Mike Mills

Genre:  Drama, Indie, Romance

 

Submarine **

 

Passion is dead for his parents, but Oliver Tate sets his sights on Jordana Bevan. He schemes. He worries. He never gives up.

Set in a perpetually grey Wales, life is torment for confused 15-year-old Oliver (Craig Roberts). He concocts any drama he can to spice up his glum home situation and pointless school days. Imagination is his best friend, providing the only way to survive the unrelenting pessimism around him.

“In many ways I prefer my own company,” he narrates. “It gives me time to think.” His word of the day is “flagitious” which means “shamefully wicked.”

Oliver lurches forward on a frenzied quest to lose his virginity with droll, matter-of-fact Jordana (Yasmin Paige). He flees school bullies and endures social mishaps. Even when he entices Jordana to his house for a romantic dinner while his parents are out, quiet desolation persists.

Two actors to watch are Roberts (Jane Eyre) and Paige (I Could Never Be Your Woman). Surely they’ll enjoy better professional days ahead.

 

Submarine relives the worst of adolescent angst. First-time director Richard Ayoade (a comedian on the Britcom The IT Crowd) assembles interesting actors and directs them through a zombie-like trance for 97 long minutes. The result is cynical and pointless. Adapted from Joe Dunthrone’s novel of the same name, Submarine sinks in despair. Even its witty dialogue can’t lift the tedium.

Impassioned New Age life coach Graham Purvis (Paddy Considine) provides Submarine’s only bright spot. Graham, who’s just moved in next door, happens to be the former love interest of Oliver’s mom Jill (Sally Hawkins). He represents her road not taken and provides the film with a fleeting, higher vision.

Jill avidly hangs onto Graham’s every word at his seminars. Even the spiritually inclined will wince at his light show mumbo jumbo (“I am a prism. . . . I am exciting and delicious.”) Graham does provide a vital glimmer of hope to his motley audiences as he sells his books and tapes.

Poor old Lloyd Tate (Australian actor Noah Taylor) is a depressed marine biologist who calmly observes Jill’s flirtation with the colorful huckster. He knows she’ll return to him. When he spies Graham having midnight bumper sex with a follower, he sees right through him.    

Graham threatens Oliver’s sad, safe world.  Alarmed, he sneaks into the guru’s seminar room to steal a videotape. Later, Jill and Lloyd watch Graham on the telly. “He’s really working that third eye, isn’t he?” Lloyd quips. An odd lack of feeling weighs down the scene.

The Tates care. They guide Oliver even as he calls them out on their own rote marriage. Jill utters calm words. “Passion rarely lasts,” his father advises. Survive, don’t thrive, they seem to say.

A recent American film about teen angst, The Art of Getting By, seems like a laugh fest compared to Submarine. Dry and one note, this movie never comes to life. Oliver and Jordana might as well walk into an ocean of grief.

If you like Submarine, you might enjoy:  The Art of Getting By; Super 8.

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Submarine     2010  /  R  /  1 hour, 37 min

Cast Overview:  Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor

Director:  Richard Ayoade

Genre:  Indie Dramedy, Movie Based on the Book

The Ledge ****

 

Love drives Gavin to the ledge of a mid-town office building. He must jump by noon, he tells Detective Hollis Lucas. Hollis contemplates leaving his family after discovering his wife’s lies. Two desperate men meet in the suspenseful indie drama The Ledge, now playing on demand before it opens in theaters.

Featured at Sundance 2011, The Ledge showcases excellent acting by Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) as a hotel manager who pursues his beautiful, sad neighbor Shauna (Liv Tyler). Shauna is married to a Christian fundamentalist (Patrick Wilson). The film begins and ends on the ledge, but returns to the story of Gavin and Shauna while suspense builds.

Terrence Howard (Law & Order: LA, Hustle & Flow) provides intrigue as a police detective who has just discovered that he is not the father of his own children. So good at portraying a complex, gentle man smoldering with rage, the actor grounds the film with can’t-look-away screen presence and riveting delivery.

Tyler (The Incredible Hulk; The Lord of the Rings) plays a suppressed, fearful wife with a wild past who lets her husband dominate “for her own good.” “It’s more complicated than you think,” she tells Gavin. Seeking to be rescued, Shauna reels with conflicting needs and desires. This works well in counterpoint to the rooftop rescue underway.

As a lonely man with a mysterious past, Hunnam disguises Gavin’s warmth and generosity with devil-may-care irreverence.  When the jumper gazes at the picture of a little girl in his wallet, we want to know more.

 

Writer-director Matthew Chapman relies heavily on two plot devices. Atheist Gavin clashes with evangelical Joe in a conflict that’s one-sided from the start. The debate between believer and non-believer becomes tedious with dogmatic, hackneyed dialogue.

Gavin suffered a loss that explains his fatalism and dangerous liaison with a married woman. Wilson (Insidious) portrays an obsessed creep (“I am washed, sanctified and justified,”) but never makes Joe sympathetic or fully dimensional. More backstory for the character would have helped.

When Gavin and his gay roommate Chris (Christopher Gorham) join Joe and Shauna for dinner one night, Joe makes intolerant comments. The homophobia angle seems contrived in the film, as if cut and pasted from another screenplay.

Although The Ledge is set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, there are no recognizable visual cues that could have added cultural interest. The movie is play-like with its intense, life or death countdown.

The Ledge ends on a strong note as Gavin and Hollis reach parallel resolutions on the worst day of their lives.

If you like The Ledge, you might enjoy: The Perfect Host; Limitless; The Double Hour.

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The Ledge     2011  /  NR  /  1 hour, 43 min

Cast Overview:  Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Terrence Howard, Christopher Gorham, Jacqueline Fleming

Director:  Matthew Chapman

Genre:  Suspense, Drama, Mystery

 

The Art of Getting By ***

 

In The Art of Getting By, Teflon slacker George (Freddie Highmore) is paralyzed by dread. Loneliness and death haunt him. Worse still, everyone insists he must get a job someday. George’s philosophy consists of three words: What’s the point?

A modern day Peter Pan with less charm, George never wants to grow up.  He carries The Stranger by Albert Camus everywhere. He refuses to do his homework. (The original title of the film was Homework.)  Principal Martinson (Blair Underwood) gives George an ultimatum: complete all his homework or no diploma.

Highmore (Toast; August Rush) seems hemmed in by the film’s sometimes stilted dialogue and story. "I'm obnoxious. I'm deeply disrespectful," George says.

Emma Roberts – niece of Julia Roberts – creates real nuance and a screen presence worth checking out. Still, we never understand what Sally sees in the misanthrope. “You have issues,” she says. The two start hanging out after George takes the rap for smoking on the school roof, allowing Sally to escape undetected.

Sally is embarrassed by her boozing mom (Elizabeth Reaser) who is searching for a new boyfriend. The two friends assume the role of grown-ups when Mrs. Howe flirts with George.

 

George's mother (Rita Wilson) and stepfather (Sam Robards) are distracted and stressed out with money problems and each other. When his mother learns that George hasn’t been doing his homework for months, she is genuinely stunned.

This freshman outing by writer-director Gavin Wiesen is an interesting but bumpy training run needing better dialogue and deeper character development. The Art of Getting By will attract audiences of slackers, as well as teachers who struggle to understand them.

The film has a flat quality as it insists on meaninglessness. There is not one, single spiritual moment.  George and Sally’s foundering parents seem more clueless than their kids. Everyone trudges along, convinced that grades, jobs and money are all-important.  No wonder the next generation is so disillusioned.

The highest aspiration George can manage is turning his frenzied sketches into art. Unfortunately, he freezes when asked for his point of view. Too terrified to do his art homework, he can’t imagine taking his friendship with Sally to the next level. It takes an overly-convenient emergency at home to wake George up.

Wiesen beautifully observes a few emotionally complex scenes. George and Sally pass each other like strangers on a New York street. Cinematographer Ben Kutchins zooms in on their faces at a Valentine’s Day dinner.

Some of George’s teachers believe in him, especially a pissed off art instructor Harris McElroy (memorably played by Jarlath Conroy). One instructor speaks plainly at a disciplinary meeting: “You don’t respect us, so why should we respect you?” Alicia Silverstone plays a concerned English teacher.

George begins to hang out with Sally’s friends. Sasha Spielberg and Marcus Carl Franklin play rich adolescents who have mastered the art of underage drinking and clubbing.

The Art of Getting By could serve as a how-to for young artists.  Here’s what George learns about unlocking his inner Basquiat:

“Figure out what you want to say and say it,” Harris tells him.  “Look in the mirror and listen to your gut.” George’s final class project must be honest and fearless.

“Be resourceful,” George’s stepfather tells him. This advice rings hollow as the adult inhabits his own world of secrets and lies.

Knowing what to paint “is the hardest part,” says Dustin (Michael Angarano of Snow Angels), George’s self-involved mentor. Examining the slacker’s original doodles, he insists: “This is what you should be painting.” Producer Andrew Levitas provides the film’s excellent artwork and plays student Javier.

The Art of Getting By has a tedious, depressed feeling that is buoyed somewhat by its closing act.

Interviewed by MovieLine, Roberts said, “There are so many high school romance films that have all this teenaged, heightened emotion. That’s not how it happens.”  For her, the film’s coming-of-age theme means “you need to figure out who you are for yourself, not for your friends or your family or your teachers. You kind of need to figure that out for you.”

If you like The Art of Getting By, you might enjoy: Hesher; Everything Must Go; Win Win.

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The Art of Getting By     2011  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 24 min

Cast Overview:  Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser, Sam Robards, Jarlath Conroy, Ann Dowd, Marcus Carl Franklin, Sasha Spielberg, Rita Wilson, Blair Underwood

Director:  Gavin Wiesen

Genre:  Drama, Dramedy

 

The Tree of Life *****

 

A family drama interpreted spiritually and artistically, The Tree of Life is a sweeping tale from the beginning to the end of time. Terrence Malick’s epic masterpiece won the Palme d’Or, top prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly,” wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupery. To fully appreciate Malick’s fifth feature, we must experience it with the heart.

A mother asks why her son is dead, who God is, and why we are here at all. Set in 1950's Texas, the film is all yearning, exploring, imploring. It’s a stark contrast to the loud, violent fare filling modern multiplexes.

After Mrs. O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) receives news of her 19-year-old son’s death, Malick returns us to our cosmic origins. Galaxies form. Earth develops. A couple meets. A child is born. Hundreds of beautifully composed images shape a quiet, elegant whole. Upheavals, universal and personal, take on a stately grace. The soundscape is lyrical. Even protozoa and dinosaurs demonstrate gentle intelligence.

Malick's sparse dialogue and interior monologues accompany these scenes like poetry. Lush cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki and the orchestral score by Alexandre Desplat are a revelation.

 

Mrs. O’Brien teaches her sons two ways through life. The way of grace accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked, insulted or injured. The way of nature (i.e., the way of the ego) dominates others, pleases itself and dwells in unhappiness. “Love is smiling through all things,” she says.

The Tree of Life shows the relationship of young Jack (Hunter McCracken in a stirring debut) and his strict, sometimes unhinged father (Brad Pitt in an Oscar-worthy dramatic performance). 

Pitt reveals a complex go-getter in the aerospace industry, a stern father who is an avid fan of Brahms. Yet O’Brien can’t reconcile the strains of a concerto with his family assembled around the dinner table. His sons never show him enough respect or measure up to his machismo.

Young Jack has begun breaking windows, stealing and tormenting small animals. “I’m as bad as you are,” Jack tells his father. Grace touches him one day and he experiences a change of heart. Jack apologizes to the brother (Laramie Eppler) he has hurt. He is kind to a neighborhood boy scarred in a house fire.

“The only way to be happy is to love. Unless you love, your life will flash by.” As Jack’s mother, Chastain is grace personified. She evokes a woman so gentle that a butterfly lands on her outstretched hand. When she disinfects a child’s cut and blows on it, we can feel her cool breath.  

 

Childhood innocence is gradually worn by the rules of society. “It takes fierce will to get ahead in this world,” Jack’s father tells him. The boy is forbidden to cross the invisible property line of a neighbor’s yard.

Sean Penn plays Jack as an angry, disillusioned man still grappling with his difficult father. Every year he lights a candle to commemorate his “true, kind” brother. Best Actor Penn delivers strong supporting work as he looks to the celestial skyscrapers of Houston for solace. They are a kind of postmodern church for Jack.

An asteroid strikes, causing massive tsunamis. Jack wanders a beach afterwards, filled with awe and wonder. It is a new beginning.

If we are open to it, The Tree of Life imparts a direct, mystical encounter between God and humans. Malick uses Christian references as the family attends church in Waco, Texas. The tree of life is an ancient symbol of heaven and earth in many religions.

The director continues his fascination with nature and the manmade world. The fields and forests of Jack’s childhood are a respite from searing inner conflicts. A universal perspective helps Jack heal years later. 

Douglas Trumbull’s special effects are natural and imaginative, resonant with the film’s ordered harmony. Superb editing is accomplished by Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber and Mark Yoshikawa. 

Malick makes films with great care and thought. After studying philosophy at Harvard, he directed four films over four decades, The New World, The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven and Badlands.

"He is working within a Hollywood system, but in a unique and personal way, much the same as Kubrick did," according to Hannah Patterson, author of The Cinema of Terrence Malick: Poetic Visions of America. "There is that level of mystery that comes from not doing interviews and not being in the public eye,” she said. Malick allows his films to speak for themselves.

Three years in the making, The Tree of Life is the director’s most epic and spiritual film to date. It reveals civilization as an experiment, a tiny shard of all that is.

Malick’s newest project stars Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and Rachel Weisz. It is scheduled for release in 2012.

 If you like The Tree of Life, you might enjoy: Of Gods and Men; I Am; 127 Hours.

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The Tree of Life     2011  /  PG-13  /  2 hours, 18 min

Cast Overview:  Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw, Irene Bedard, Jessica Fuselier, Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan 

Director:  Terrence Malick

Genre:  Drama, Indie, Period Piece

 
 

Hesher **1/2

 
 

Just when we start to like Hesher, he talks about his balls at a funeral or trashes someone’s backyard for fun. Natalie Portman appears in and co-produces the indie mashup Hesher.

Hesher is an enigmatic drifter played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception; 3rd Rock from the Sun). Long-haired and dirty with a middle finger tattooed along his spine, Hesher is a juvie survivor, homeless wanderer and self-styled avenger. He drives a battered pickup truck that blares death metal music. An anti-hero who loves to blow things up, Hesher spouts filth, eats like a caveman, bangs chicks and watches porn.

Of course 12-year-old T.J. Forney (Devin Brochu) is fascinated. Hesher follows him home one day after T.J. throws a rock through a window at a construction site, accidentally dislocating the squatter. Hesher arrives at T.J.'s dysfunctional household not long after the boy's mom dies in a car accident.

Hesher's reluctant hosts are zombie-like. T.J.’s dad (Rainn Wilson of The Office) is whacked-out on anti-depressants. His grandmother (Piper Laurie, creepy, sly and sweet) is not all there, but manages to cook meals. “Life is like walking in the rain,” she says. “You can hide and take cover, or just get wet.” They let T.J.'s "friend" stay, not knowing he has threatened the horrified, spellbound pre-teen.

Wounded T.J. pilfers his dad’s money via an ATM, hoping to escape to somewhere better. The boy tries to buy back his family’s totaled car from an auto wrecking yard. The owner (John Carroll Lynch, consistently great) warns him to stay away. T.J. falls asleep in the wreck one night, desperate to feel his mom’s loving presence. Brochu is the saving grace of the film, a young actor to watch out for.

Set pieces, especially the pool scene, are original and memorable. The premise of Hesher is good. Yet the misfit’s bizarre behavior overpowers and detracts from the story.

 

When T.J. develops a crush on a plain, sweet convenience store clerk Nicole (a lovely role for Portman), Hesher offers unwanted man advice. Nicole struggles in her dead-end job and life. When she rear-ends another car while giving T.J. a ride home, Hesher comes to the rescue. “Some days a day is bad and you discover whole new ways it could get way worse,” Nicole laments.

When times get tough, is screaming and violence the key to recovery? Hesher blows up a bully’s car in the name of justice. When T.J. tells him never to do that again, the dude is temporarily nonplussed.

Hesher is a primal scream in a world where bad things happen to the good. His footfalls thunder like a herd of rhino. Anger guides him. We get it, but does he have to be so repulsive?

There’s principled disobedience, and then there’s Hesher. His venting doesn’t have a point. Any good that comes out of his visit to the Forneys is pure accident. Bad Santa he’s not.

Writer-director Spencer Susser has created an incoherent film with some fresh moments. Hesher’s heart may be in the right place, but he leads T.J. in immature and dangerous ways. The rebel's exercise of power is wrong-headed and pathetic. Everyone except grandma has forgotten his original self-worth and sacredness. They believe they are powerless, and so they are.

What were the producers thinking in making this film? A line of Portman’s dialogue could be her answer: “I really just did it for myself ‘cause I’m selfish. Sorry.”

If you like Hesher, you might enjoy:  I’m Still Here; Greenberg; Please Give.

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Hesher     2010  /  R  /  1 hour, 42 min

Cast Overview:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie, Natalie Portman, John Carroll Lynch

Director:  Spencer Susser

Genre:  Indie Drama, Indie Dramedy

 

Everything Must Go *****

 

Nick Halsey is getting fired. It doesn’t matter that he’s been top dog in his sales district. His brawl with an important customer, and arrest for a DUI, show that he’s lost his grip. Will Ferrell stars in the deadpan comedy Everything Must Go.

Nick’s day gets worse. He arrives home to find all his possessions – clothes, old records, trophies – dumped on the front lawn.  His wife is gone. The locks have been changed. Nick leaves a message on her voicemail. “Can’t this happen another day?”

Based on the Raymond Carver short story Why Don’t You Dance?, the film develops beautifully the modern day loneliness of Carver’s characters. Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction) nails it with an open, vulnerable performance. Writer director Dan Rush keeps it unsentimental, following Nick’s plodding and occasionally delightful progress.

Marooned on his front yard, his car repossessed and bank account frozen, Nick is forced to take stock and embark on an odyssey. Luckily it seldom rains in Phoenix (although there are lawn sprinklers to contend with). He settles back in his leather easy chair, gulping his way through two six packs. An unexpected ally Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace of Notorious) shows up, riding his bike, asking questions.

Kenny is a chubby neighborhood kid, smart, enterprising and fatherless. Samantha (Rebecca Hall of The Town) is Nick’s pretty, pregnant new neighbor, a good listener who’s waiting for her husband to arrive from across the country. Delilah (dynamic Laura Dern), with her exquisitely pained smile, is the soulful, empathetic high school friend who signed Nick’s yearbook.

 

Nick’s A.A. sponsor Frank Garcia (Michael Pena), a police detective, can keep him out of jail for five days as long as Nick calls his situation a yard sale. He’s losing patience with his friend’s on-again, off-again sobriety.

Nick consoles himself by breaking into his own back yard and pissing in his wife’s fishpond of Japanese koi. He watches home movies outdoors. His father was a mean drunk. His mother did love him. Nick bumps into his kinky neighbor (Stephen Root, hilarious) and his ex-boss (Glenn Howerton, textbook obnoxious).

Are we friends? Nick’s turning point is teaching Kenny baseball, embracing “a little less me and a little more we.” Eventually he faces the truth: he’s got to let go of his possessions, the debris of his life. He hires Kenny to help him with the yard sale.

“Give the customers what they want,” Nick coaches Kenny. “Make it easy for them to buy.” It turns out that Kenny has a knack for people pleasing and making sales. Soon he’s reading The Sales Bible, negotiating the best deals and slowly clearing the front yard.

Lashing out at sweet Samantha one day, Nick realizes how difficult he can be. Still he yearns to win back his wife, who we never meet. Visiting Delilah, Nick sees her making the best of raising two kids on her own. “You have a good heart, Nicholas. That doesn’t change,” she tells him.

There’s no grand epiphany in Everything Must Go. Change is ongoing, sometimes maddeningly slow. Friends can help.  

If you like Everything Must Go, you might enjoy:  Solitary Man; Barney’s Version; A Serious Man.

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Everything Must Go     2010  /  R  /  1 hour, 36 min

Cast Overview:  Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Glenn Howerton, Stephen Root, Laura Dern 

Director:  Dan Rush

Genre:  Indie Drama, Dramedy, Dark Comedy

 

Official Rejection *****

 

The hazards of promoting independent films are many. There’s the frustration of being ignored and disrespected. There’s the stress caused by high credit card bills and broken marriages. Ask filmmaker Scott Storm, who takes us along while he promotes his indie feature Ten ‘til Noon in the documentary Official Rejection.

“The biggest misconception that filmmakers have about film festivals,” says author Chris Gore, “is, they’re gonna go there, they’re gonna show their movie, someone’s gonna buy it, they’re gonna have a million dollars, and they’re gonna have a great career!” That isn’t so, says Gore, who writes The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide.

There are thousands of film festivals held around the world each year. Scores of filmmakers apply to gain valuable exposure to potential funders; publicity, and perhaps an award or two. In North America, four events set the gold standard: The Sundance Film Festival; The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF); The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW); and a relative newcomer, The Tribeca Film Festival. 

Indie filmmakers often apply to the big festivals first, says Paul Osborne, who directed Official Rejection and wrote Ten 'til Noon. If their movie premieres at a lesser known festival, they are sure to be rejected by the big ones.

Applying to each festival costs $50 or more. There are forms to complete and DVDs to burn for each submission. When Sundance turns him away, Storm is stunned. He thought his movie was worthwhile and similar to others at Sundance. As the rejections pile up, he becomes more disappointed.

Storm discovers that other indie filmmakers are being turned away too. A rejection does not mean that the film is bad, however. It may not meet specific programming objectives. So many films, so few slots: Sundance recently had over 2,000 submissions for only 16 competition slots.

Corporate sponsors and moneyed “Indiewood” studios have co-opted the major indie festivals, according to filmmakers. Take a look at the corporate sponsor logos on major festival websites. It’s all about connections and who you know. Sexual favors are traded, say some insiders.

“Suddenly you can’t be the film from nowhere that just explodes,” says filmmaker Kevin Smith.  Gore adds, “Sundance has become a victim of its own success. . . . It’s the stepchild of the studios."  Sundance Founder Robert Redford, quoted at Movieline.com,  answers charges of commercialism: “We’re doing it the same way we always did… our job is to provide, not to necessarily decide.”

Resolving not to give up, Storm eventually gets Ten ‘til Noon accepted at 14 lesser-known festivals. On his road trips, he documents everything from broken projectors and scarce food to skimpy SWAG bags (souvenirs, wearables and gifts, also known as “s--t we all get.”)

Storm shells out more for movie postcards and posters. His family and friends help him distribute and post these before each screening. Politician-like, they shake hands with passersby and urge them to “Come see a movie!”

As Storm learns the ropes, so do we. Interviews with filmmakers, festival presidents and programmers shed light on the process. Small festivals slam one another and scramble for prestigious “premieres.” Gore suggests that indie filmmakers manage expectations and learn from it all.  

Many bad films are submitted, according to programmers who must watch hundreds of submissions. One admits that he cannot watch every film in its entirety. How to get around this? One filmmaker sent a blank DVD to Slamdance to see if anyone would notice. When Slamdance’s organizer called him, he had the chance to schmooze with him briefly before quickly sending in his movie.

Storm develops huge respect for the lesser-known festivals. We are taken behind the scenes in San Francisco, Riverside and Phoenix. His best festival experience? The Newport Beach Film Festival, where organizers make filmmakers welcome and talk with them about their ideas. His worst? Chicago Indiefest, a disorganized nightmare run by an elusive head honcho and volunteers who are nowhere in sight.

A high point for Storm is connecting with his audiences in post-screening Q&A sessions. One fan follows him from city to city. To hear how much viewers appreciate his movie is deeply satisfying.

Ten ‘til Noon eventually wins the Best Narrative Feature Award at the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival. The film is now available on DVD.

 If you like Official Rejection, you might enjoy:  I Am; Somewhere.

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Official Rejection     2009  /  NR /  1 hour, 47 min

Cast Overview:  Paul Osborne, Paul Alessi, Scott Storm, Andy Dick, David Faustino, Kevin Smith, Jenna Fischer, Chris Gore, Bryan Singer, Lloyd Kaufman, Blayne Weaver, John Daniel Gavin, Traci Lords, Jennifer Tilly, Danny Trejo

Director:  Paul Osborne

Genre:  Indie Documentary