SXSW 2010 Review: Cyrus

This was the first Duplass Bros. film I had seen. ¬†I’ve heard lots of great things about The Puffy Chair and Baghead but for whatever reason I just haven’t jumped on the Mumblecore bandwagon and sat down to watch them. ¬†When I heard that Cyrus would be playing the festival, I jumped at the chance, albeit their most mainstream entry, to check it out. ¬†What I ended up experiencing was a strangely moving picture that is almost really good. ¬†It also helps that it’s very funny and has some really great performances.

Cyrus tells the story of John (John C. Reilly). ¬†We’re introduced to him in a rather compromised position. ¬†His ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener) goes into his house. ¬†Loud music is blaring from a room. ¬†She walks in on him… shall we say… in a solitary act. ¬†We learn that he’s been divorced for an extended period but has not done much with his life since the failure of his marriage. ¬†John’s maintained a good relationship with Jamie, but time seems to have stopped. ¬†Jamie convinces John to go to a party. ¬†John gets very inebriated and runs into Molly (Marisa Tomei). ¬†In true fashion, they fall head over heels. ¬†John then meets Molly’s rather obsessive son, Cyrus (played pretty damn well by Jonah Hill). ¬†The film then takes on a “don’t fuck my mom” approach but balances humor with some pretty heartfelt drama.

I already mentioned Hill as being rather well in his performance. ¬†All around, the cast is really great. ¬†Every scene with even the hint of a joke is just spot on. ¬†The drama throughout is equally impressive. ¬†Everything is handled in a rather realistic manner. ¬†Please forgive me as this is my first foray into Mumblecore; so if the next statement is rote you’ll understand. ¬†A lot of the movie almost seemed improvised. ¬†Dialogue overlaps, characters seem to actually be listening to what one another are saying.

To increase the believability of the performances is the documentary-style camera work. ¬†Although I will admit that it is one of the more sore spots as the the camera zoom just seemed artificial at times. ¬†I remember one scene where John is walking away from us where it seemed like every time he got five feet further, the camera did a really fast zoom-in to catch up. ¬†I know this might be something I just don’t get, but it seemed rather unnecessary.

So bottom line, I enjoyed the performances a lot, the movie has some pretty good humor (although our preview audience was a little over zealous with their laughter), and some great, heartfelt drama. ¬†I dug it, but it won’t be everyone’s favorite movie.

Recent posts by Dustin

• Monday Morning Dork Attack: Dublin Dr. Pepper - January 16th, 2012
• Monday Morning Dork Attack: Broken Wii - January 9th, 2012
• Monday Morning Dork Attack: Luck - January 2nd, 2012
• Dustin's 2011 10 Favorite and 5 Disappointments for Film - December 30th, 2011
• Monday Morning Dork Attack: 355.2 - November 28th, 2011

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz