The Spectacular Now

This film starts out like any teen movie with introductions to the cool kid and his girlfriend. Parties, booze, sex - it's there and set up in such a way to make you already loathe these kids. This of course is done on purpose to allow the viewer to witness the growth and redemption of the main lead character Sutter, played by Miles Teller. This could be classified as a coming of age story for Sutter - growing up without a father, feeling unloved from those around him, and coming to terms with his alcoholism to ultimately appreciate and recognize he is worthy of being loved and just couldn't recognize the love given by others.

In this film the main catalyst for his change is presented in the form of the beautiful and endearing Aimee, played by the capable and sincere Shailene Woodley of "The Descendants". She has grown her craft since that movie and her wonder, innocence, charm and love are very clearly communicated in a masterful sense to the audience. Aimee loves Sutter - Sutter loves Aimee in his own way. Aimee can see the greatness in Sutter even when the audience cannot. She gives herself to him with innocence maintained even through some horrible scenes where her character is clearly slighted.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is unremarkable and even more so unrecognizable. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is briefly present and clearly emotionally challenged as Sutter. Kyle Chandler plays his part extremely well as Sutters absent addict father - a far meatier role than in this years "zero dark thirty". Brie Larson is in the movie sporadically as Sutters ex girlfriend and although her role is small - it too is important to help Sutter realize his flaws and change.

The ending of the movie can be interpreted in many ways. I found myself arguing with my buddy about the meaning. You might as well - you are able to project all you know, or think you. Know, onto Sutter and Aimee to provide closure how you see fit.

I give this film four thumbs up - a definite must see!

Official synopsis:

2012, 95 minutes, color, U.S.A.

Sutter Keely lives in the now. It’s a good place for him. A high school senior, charming and self-possessed, he’s the life of the party, loves his job at a men’s clothing store, and has no plans for the future. A budding alcoholic, he’s never far from his supersized, whisky-fortified 7UP cup. But after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finicky hovering over him. Not a member of the cool crowd, she’s different: the “nice girl” who reads science fiction and doesn’t have a boyfriend. She does have dreams, while Sutter lives in a world of impressive self-delusion. And yet they’re drawn to each other.

Adapted from Tim Tharp’s novel, The Spectacular Now captures the insecurity and confusion of adolescence without looking for tidy truths. Young actors rarely portray teens with the maturity that Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley display, and they are phenomenal together. Funny, compassionate, and poignant, James Ponsoldt’s third feature again demonstrates his ability to lay bare the souls of his characters.

Director: James Ponsoldt

Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, based on the novel by Tim Tharp

Executive Producers: Scott Neustadter, Michael H Weber, Matthew Medlin, Marc Shmuger

Producers: Tom McNulty, Shawn Levy, Andrew Lauren, Michelle Krumm

Coproducers: Billy Rosenberg, Dan Cohen

Cinematographer: Jess Hall

Editor: Darrin Navarro

Composer: Rob Simonsen

Principal Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler

Breathe In

Breath In is a movie from Drake Doremus, winner of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Like Crazy. This film explores the themes of settling for a life you didn't think you would have and the passion that was in one's life and then fades away. This story is not wholly believable although well portrayed by skilled actors such as Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones. Pearce played the role well but you never walk away believing he was once a passionate artist. You mostly sympathize with him because of his downer and nag of a wife played by Amy Ryan. Their daughter played by Mackenzie Davis is just too tall and lanky to be taken seriously as a high school student and it is quite distracting.

Thrown into this family is the beautiful Felicity Jones. She appears as an exchange student from England visiting to take piano lessons at the school where Pearce is a teacher. Instantly her beauty and ability strike a chord in the sleepy Pearce's character and it awakens the passion he has missed.

Trying to convince his wife to move back to the city falls flat and it is then that Pearce's character turns to Jones' for the missing parts. Nothing gets too lurid between them but you can guess where it will lead. Everything blows up in the end and life is left passionless and accepted.

I give this movie 2 thumbs up and would recommend it as a rental for sure.

Official synopsis:

2012, 98 minutes, color, U.S.A.

As summer turns to fall, music teacher Keith Reynolds privately reminisces about his days as a starving artist in the city. While his wife, Megan, and daughter, Lauren, look forward to Lauren’s final year of high school, Keith clings to those evenings he’s asked to sub as a cellist with a prestigious Manhattan symphony. When Megan decides the family should host foreign exchange student Sophie, the British high school senior soon rekindles an impetuous aspect of Keith’s personality.

Drake Doremus, winner of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Like Crazy, reunites with actress Felicity Jones and cowriter Ben York Jones for this passionate ensemble drama of family dysfunction. Ditching the hand-held aesthetic of his past works, Doremus conceives a grander story of love and heartache, only heightened by his lead character’s symphonic avocation, while maintaining his keen eye for intimate performance.

Director: Drake Doremus

Screenwriters: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones

Producers: Jonathan Schwartz, Andrea Sperling, Steven Rales, Mark Roybal

Coproducers: Kathryn Dean, Michael Pruss

Cinematographer: John Guleserian

Editor: Jonathan Alberts

Production Designer: Katie Byron

Composer: Dustin O'Halloran

Principal Cast: Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Amy Ryan, Mackenzie Davis