JUNEBUG
Despite a few delightful moments, the parts add up to a whole bunch of nothing. It's hard to give a negative review to a movie as well-intentioned and, for lack of a better word, polite as JUNEBUG, but in the end it just didn't come together as anything for me.
Though there were many engrossing scenes that gave us some insight into the lives of these characters, there was no spine to this story to give things a purpose. The film simply relies on it's quirkiness to coast through the running time, and honestly it does breeze by thanks to it. However, quirkiness does not a movie make.
The story revolves around Madleine (Embeth Davidtz) meeting her new husband George's (Alessandro Nivola) family in a small town. The family is incredibly dysfunctional, but in an unspoken, non-violent way. Not a single pair of people in this film seem to have a genuine connection to one another, despite all the niceties they share.
Madeleine, despite what seems to be a good heart, does not seem to have a real relationship with her husband beside an incredibly satisfying sex-life. Her in-laws seem to simply exist in the same household, never seeming to share genuine love. They don't speak, they don't emote, they just generally don't care.
That is, except for poor pregnant Ashley (played by Oscar Nominee Amy Adams). Here is a girl who so desperately tries in vein to connect to anyone she can around her. When Madeliene arrives, she jumps on like a hungry leech desperate for someone to offer her something interesting in life. Madeleine is polite and friendly without a doubt, but she never really connects with Ashley. No one notices Ashley's need for something more, and no one seems to care about anyone enough to help her better her situation.
All the characters in this film have an odd balance in that they are generally polite, good-natured people... but none of them care enough to make a connection with anyone or bother to help a family member desperately in need.
Nothing seems to happen in order to change this family's emotionally distant balance... until a twist at the end that shows George as a man who supposedly cares more about family then anything in the world. However, this comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. Everyone seems to spend there days sleeping the time away and nothing changes in the end.
Every character enters the film the same way they leave it. And despite an entertaining quirkiness, some funny moments, and some good performances, it is all pointless. And though I can't hate on a film that is so friendly as JUNEBUG, I also can't appreciate a film that essentially wastes nearly two hours of my life... no matter how easygoing and likable it is at times.
... C- ...
Despite a few delightful moments, the parts add up to a whole bunch of nothing. It's hard to give a negative review to a movie as well-intentioned and, for lack of a better word, polite as JUNEBUG, but in the end it just didn't come together as anything for me.
Though there were many engrossing scenes that gave us some insight into the lives of these characters, there was no spine to this story to give things a purpose. The film simply relies on it's quirkiness to coast through the running time, and honestly it does breeze by thanks to it. However, quirkiness does not a movie make.
The story revolves around Madleine (Embeth Davidtz) meeting her new husband George's (Alessandro Nivola) family in a small town. The family is incredibly dysfunctional, but in an unspoken, non-violent way. Not a single pair of people in this film seem to have a genuine connection to one another, despite all the niceties they share.
Madeleine, despite what seems to be a good heart, does not seem to have a real relationship with her husband beside an incredibly satisfying sex-life. Her in-laws seem to simply exist in the same household, never seeming to share genuine love. They don't speak, they don't emote, they just generally don't care.
That is, except for poor pregnant Ashley (played by Oscar Nominee Amy Adams). Here is a girl who so desperately tries in vein to connect to anyone she can around her. When Madeliene arrives, she jumps on like a hungry leech desperate for someone to offer her something interesting in life. Madeleine is polite and friendly without a doubt, but she never really connects with Ashley. No one notices Ashley's need for something more, and no one seems to care about anyone enough to help her better her situation.
All the characters in this film have an odd balance in that they are generally polite, good-natured people... but none of them care enough to make a connection with anyone or bother to help a family member desperately in need.
Nothing seems to happen in order to change this family's emotionally distant balance... until a twist at the end that shows George as a man who supposedly cares more about family then anything in the world. However, this comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. Everyone seems to spend there days sleeping the time away and nothing changes in the end.
Every character enters the film the same way they leave it. And despite an entertaining quirkiness, some funny moments, and some good performances, it is all pointless. And though I can't hate on a film that is so friendly as JUNEBUG, I also can't appreciate a film that essentially wastes nearly two hours of my life... no matter how easygoing and likable it is at times.
... C- ...