Often since beginning this blog, I have found myself writing out of a sense of obligation. This isn't awful, because I know that without obligation, I would only take in and never produce. But, I'm on a plane from Paris to Chicago, so I figured I'd write my review for Ruby Sparks now. I watched this film under the worst possible circumstances. The screen can't be more than 5"x4" and the whole time I was could hear, slightly louder than the film I was watching, Finding Nemo in German. But despite these inhibiting factors, I really loved this movie.
I normally insist on having my list of movies open so I can compare with previous films I've seen. But I can't do that now. Because I'm on a plane. So here are the reasons I liked this movie.
First, Paul Dano. I wanted to give Zoe Kazan first pick, because she wrote it and knocked it out of the park as the co-star as well, but Paul Dano is a revelation. I think that word normally works when you didn't already know that something was good, but every time I see him in a movie, he truly opens my eyes. I gushed on him after Looper too. He was in that for ten minutes. He executed perfectly. He lived on that edge where you, or I anyway, get so nervous for that character who is deliriously happy but you know he's going to chuck it away. He managed to sell abject misery and delirious happiness with the same clarity and truth. He truly wiped the floor with me emotionally. And all I can do is thank him.
Let's not forget Zoe though. The movie is fantastically written to the romantic comedy genre specifications, but it goes way darker and plumbs the absolute depths, before bringing you back. In this way, I would compare it to (500) Days of Summer. There were so many points in which I forgot that Paul's character was not Paul writing, but also those moments that worked so brilliantly, as one-liners or whatever, that you want to kiss the writer...I literally cannot stop myself as I write, "yes, she's also quite pretty too."
Beyond her writing, she played a silly part without being campy. She makes the fantasy/sci-fi concept believable. Steve Coogan and Chris Messina are quite good too. They play their little parts quite well without being too much.
As far as wisdom goes, I think the film doesn't make a particularly new point. It's really easy to take for granted those we love. It's really easy to be selfish, even when we are in love, which ought to be the least selfish time of our lives. This message is simply given new life in this odd story. I think this is the best mode of science-fiction or fantasy. It uses a fantastical concept to show us the same truths that we ought to know by now.
For wonder, the film is so straightforward that I gave it a 9. I am starting tot think that something may be wrong with my rating system that a simple film can't go above a 9. I'm not sure. One caveat. I could barely hear, so music appreciation was out of the question. A better viewing could easily elicit a 9.5. I would guess it would as the directors we the same ones from Little Miss Sunshine. And the music in that, oy veh. For those who don't know me, that sound has become so integral to my language that I say it completely without thinking.
I hope anyone who sees this film after reading this loves it. I did. I was so happily surprised, and I was super-psyched for this one. When I watch a trailer that gets me really excited, I put it on my list with a plus sign or a cross next to it(+). I often refer to this, in the lengthy conversations that I have with myself, as crossing a movie. I crossed this and I was still pleasantly surprised. I don't know how many times that's happened. Maybe never. I'm usually just affirmed. I expected good things and I was right. In this case, I expected good things and I was given a great film.
I normally insist on having my list of movies open so I can compare with previous films I've seen. But I can't do that now. Because I'm on a plane. So here are the reasons I liked this movie.
First, Paul Dano. I wanted to give Zoe Kazan first pick, because she wrote it and knocked it out of the park as the co-star as well, but Paul Dano is a revelation. I think that word normally works when you didn't already know that something was good, but every time I see him in a movie, he truly opens my eyes. I gushed on him after Looper too. He was in that for ten minutes. He executed perfectly. He lived on that edge where you, or I anyway, get so nervous for that character who is deliriously happy but you know he's going to chuck it away. He managed to sell abject misery and delirious happiness with the same clarity and truth. He truly wiped the floor with me emotionally. And all I can do is thank him.
Let's not forget Zoe though. The movie is fantastically written to the romantic comedy genre specifications, but it goes way darker and plumbs the absolute depths, before bringing you back. In this way, I would compare it to (500) Days of Summer. There were so many points in which I forgot that Paul's character was not Paul writing, but also those moments that worked so brilliantly, as one-liners or whatever, that you want to kiss the writer...I literally cannot stop myself as I write, "yes, she's also quite pretty too."
Beyond her writing, she played a silly part without being campy. She makes the fantasy/sci-fi concept believable. Steve Coogan and Chris Messina are quite good too. They play their little parts quite well without being too much.
As far as wisdom goes, I think the film doesn't make a particularly new point. It's really easy to take for granted those we love. It's really easy to be selfish, even when we are in love, which ought to be the least selfish time of our lives. This message is simply given new life in this odd story. I think this is the best mode of science-fiction or fantasy. It uses a fantastical concept to show us the same truths that we ought to know by now.
For wonder, the film is so straightforward that I gave it a 9. I am starting tot think that something may be wrong with my rating system that a simple film can't go above a 9. I'm not sure. One caveat. I could barely hear, so music appreciation was out of the question. A better viewing could easily elicit a 9.5. I would guess it would as the directors we the same ones from Little Miss Sunshine. And the music in that, oy veh. For those who don't know me, that sound has become so integral to my language that I say it completely without thinking.
I hope anyone who sees this film after reading this loves it. I did. I was so happily surprised, and I was super-psyched for this one. When I watch a trailer that gets me really excited, I put it on my list with a plus sign or a cross next to it(+). I often refer to this, in the lengthy conversations that I have with myself, as crossing a movie. I crossed this and I was still pleasantly surprised. I don't know how many times that's happened. Maybe never. I'm usually just affirmed. I expected good things and I was right. In this case, I expected good things and I was given a great film.
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