I got to the long scene in the lavatory — it’s pretty brilliant. Although I can also see how it leads Green directly to Hollywood — it’s Hollywood in the same way that Kurosawa is sometimes “Hollywood.” It’s about things that happen in movies more than in real life. But the way the action unfolds and the way it’s presented and filmed is quite original, imo.
Now I’m also digging the motorscooter scene which is like “what the fuck” and sort of a disarmingly goofy take on Scorpio Rising.
So far more compelling than not. I’m very interested in Green’s technique. Even when he resorts to a fairly obvious moment (such as when George finds the boy floating in the swimming pool) he has it play out in a way that ends up paying off — i.e., the awkward, numb encounter between the mother and the aunt on the front porch, and then of course George’s transformation into a quirky, improvised “superhero.”
A brilliant moment — we see young George talking to the police, being interrogated. He says nothing, but we feel he might admit to something that could get him in trouble. Next shot — George is shown standing behind the bars of a jail cell. We assume he’s been arrested. Next shot, an older man in prison uniform, whose face resembles George’s a little, is shown sitting in a cell. We assume that the film has time-elapsed, and George is growing old in prison. Then the film cuts back to George, who starts talking, and we realize it’s his father in jail. In a few seconds of visually economical shots, Green shows the defeatist cycle of incarceration in the black community — it’s a brilliant mini-essay that isn’t heavy handed or preachy.
The last third is a bit padded. And the voiceover slips into solipsism. I like the love that Nasia has for George, though. She sees him in a way that’s different from how the other characters see him.
Green does music right in this film. It’s good, and always slightly familiar-sounding, but it’s never anything that hijacks the film by making you think, “Oh, that’s this or that band.” It manages to be “hip” and yet serve the film totally without competing with it.
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Lol. No, I just ended up doing this piecemeal. Taking breaks from watching it. I thought others might have seen this movie, but whether or not anyone contributes to it, well, that’s neither here nor there.
But hey, thanks for trying to make me feel bad. And yes, I’ve read The Magic Mountain.
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Looks like the troll has come back in yet another guise.
Stop responding to him, please.
“But hey, thanks for trying to make me feel bad”
that has to be one of my favorite things said on this forum.
I’ve been meaning to watch this film for some time, when I do I’ll come back here with some comments.
I have a feeling it will be the only thing from Green that I love. Which is not to say that I don’t chuckle like sin at Eastbound and Down. FUNNY!
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this film, so I can’t comment on particulars. That said, it left a very strong impression. I remember walking around in a fog for a couple of hours afterwards because it was so impacting. DGG captures a small town as well as any director out there, and GW happened to be (for me) the perfect fusion of directing, acting, and writing. However, he hasn’t come close to duplicating it. The lack of chemistry between Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale ruined an otherwise decent story in Snow Angels. All the Real Girls was just bad all around, even though I was rooting for Paul Schneider. Zooey’s (somewhat annoying) charm wasn’t enough to rescue the picture. I have to agree with Tom, expectations of another great film from DGG are low.
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It is a film that you think about later.
Yeah Tom. I feel gross whenever I watch “Eastbound and Down”, but it doesn’t keep me from laughing.
Justin Vicari
So I’m watching George Washington. Not sure how I feel about it. I think the best parts of it derive from Killer of Sheep, and it’s sort of mixed in with elements from Malick’s Days of Heaven, elements that sort of scream postmodern-overwritten-filmschool-project, to me. So I think it might be half raw art, half arty bag of tricks.
The supplements are great, though — I watched the short films first, and it’s really illuminating to see how the feature film grew out of those.