My reaction to this film ran very hot and cold. Gus Van Sant is an imaginative, inventive, risky film-maker, and you can see that in this film. But it is also a film of extreme contrasts. There is some brilliant acting in it, particularly Williams and Skarsg�rd, who are both wonderful as the older academics in the film. There is also some terrible acting, particularly Affleck, who destroys every scene he touches. (Make that nearly every scene. There is a single scene with him that is one of the most effective in the entire film. I have no idea how he was able to pull that off.) Damon shows that he has some ability, though his performance is nowhere near Williams� level. And the film looks very nice. The script is solid, although there is far more profanity than necessary. But the contrasting nature of the performances seems to leak into the story as well. There are some truly riveting moments � the confrontation between Will and a MIT punk in a bar is great, and the pivotal conversation between Will and Sean Maguire is very, very gripping. But there are also some completely forgettable ones � almost any scene of the guys wandering around drinking and swearing, and definitely any scene with Mini Driver. On the whole, it is a frustratingly uneven work. The ability is there, but it never really seems to come together.
"You're an orphan right? You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don't care about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you, sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief." |
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