Pretty spectacular, this little independent movie about a popular, confident high school senior, his flask, and his unlikely rebound girlfriend has terrific young actors and some seasoned ones as well. Miles Teller (made his feature debut in Rabbit Hole as the boy who accidentally killed Nicole Kidman's child) stars as Sutter in a wonderful performance. Shailene Woodley, who made such a splash as the older daughter in The Descendants (she actually had dozens of TV jobs before that and she's only 21 now), is equally good as Aimee, the girlfriend. We also like Brie Larson (last blogged in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; she also has played dozens of roles on screens small and big) as Sutter's ex-girlfriend. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (most recently in Smashed) has a couple of good scenes as Sutter's older sister. Among those of the next generation are Jennifer Jason Leigh (covered in Greenberg), Bob Odenkirk (a writer on SNL from 1987-95, he was half of Mr. Show with Bob and David (Cross) from 1995-98, and many other comedy writing gigs; for acting he may be best known as "Call Saul" on 43 episodes of Breaking Bad and an upcoming "announced Saul Goodman spin-off"), Kyle Chandler (after writing about him in Super 8 I neglected to mention him in Argo and Zero Dark Thirty), and Andre Royo (I haven't seen The Wire so he's new to me) as Sutter's teacher.
Director James Ponsoldt (Smashed, which was about an alcoholic rebounding from hitting bottom) and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber ((500) Days of Summer) bring to life the novel of the same name by Tim Tharp, a 2008 Finalist for the National Book Award. There are a few surprises and the ending is just right.
The soundtrack by Rob Simonsen (last composed The Way Way Back) evokes Sutter's moods from happy-go-lucky to out-of-control (listen here and here) and back again, and is accompanied by this list of songs.
Reviews are good this time, with critics averaging 93 and audiences 87 on rottentomatoes. Big screen viewing isn't essential, but see it you should.
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ReplyDeleteI had to remove the comment because it contained spoilers. Here it is, edited:
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Jenna and I, who eagerly anticipated this much talked-about film, were very disappointed. Not in the performances, but in the writing! Seemed like a Lifetime TV movie to us. As wonderful as the two leads are (mostly Woodley), there were no surprises, and it's a story we're all too familiar with. I love Kyle Chandler, but his character was so predictable ... Woodley's a natural, and I like how comfortable she is in her own skin, but can she make the transition to adult roles? We'll see. I give it a 5 out of 10 stars!