The film Text copyright (c) Filmverdict 2006-present. Any film titles and artwork used are copyright of their respective owners.
Alexander Payne is a show-it-to-them-on-screen director. He lets his actors handle the emotional baggage of the characters whilst he makes their jobs easier by showcasing gorgeous scenery, hilarious set-pieces, and satirical edges on contemporary American society. About Schmidt set the precedent and Sideways justifies his style of filmmaking - he brings fresh stories into modern cinema, an industry which has been contaminated with dry ideas, one-dimensional characters and recycled plots. Payne is a revolutionary director in the making with Jim Taylor as a perfectly able screenwriting sidekick.
Sideways is a delightful film about two men reaching middle age with not much to show apart from disappointment - wannabe writers and washed-up actors are hardly original but it's the magnetism of the dialogue and the characters which is so alluring. They embark on a week long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the altar. The tone of the film is complemented with a gentle, recurring and poignant soundtrack, and Payne has even employed his director of photography to employ a 1970s grain in order to give off a fusion of different genres - buddy movie, comedy, drama, romance etc. The plot is seemingly simple, and it plays out as such, but Payne gives 20th Century Fox's film a classic gloss - comedic investigation of the wild vicissitudes of love and friendship, the damnable doggedness of solitude and dreams, and the enduring war between Pinot and Cabernet are explored in a subconscious in-depth manner.
Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church are utterly terrific in regards to their respective opportunities for hilarity and the chemistry they share. The former is the wine-obsessed hopeful author, serial worrier, depressive divorcee, and serious side of the coin Payne has kindly polished for us. Meanwhile, Haden Church has entered his last week of bachelorhood and is desperate for one final act of infidelity on the trip his college friend has organised, one week before the supposed happiest day of his life. The nymphomaniac charmer manages to fulfil his "last taste of freedom" one and a half times (you will see how he couldn't manage full integers) and Miles (Giamatti) is stuck with a dilemma - betray his friend and tell Jack's pristine casual buddy, Stephanie (Sandra Oh) about his unfaithfulness, or let Jack accomplish his desires and let down Stephanie and his own prospective love interest, Maya (Virginia Madsen) in the process. All the actors are faultless, with the two leads in particular shining throughout. Haden Church is a far cry from his Spider-Man 3 role but humour is seemingly his strongest asset. Giamatti's turns in The Illusionist and Cinderella Man showcase the sombre side of acting the Connecticut thespian is famous for, but Miles is still a deeply comical character amidst the melancholy he explicitly stands for - a daring rescue mission of Jack's wallet is uproarious.
Payne and Taylor make us care about these two misfits - when Miles' Saab crashes in a field (even that wasn't the preferred method) one really thinks life couldn't get much worse for the duo, but the director creates a pleasant ending. Not unrealistic, but satisfactory - just how life is and should be.
The extras
The commentary from Church and Giamatti is hilarious. Both are seemingly trying to outdo each other with the range of their respective vocabularies. Unfortunately Payne doesn't involve himself anywhere so production information is scarce but Haden Church and Giamatti provide enough anecdotes for a superb track. Deleted scenes are accompanied by insightful notes from Payne and are all decent additions, even though most have been re-cut for the main feature. The 'Behind-the-Scenes' featurette is extremely brief (six minutes) though and is just a concise piece about nothing in particular. The three Easter Eggs however are excellent. Project Searchlight is a hilarious on the set giggle seeing figures doing unexpected things - Giamatti lashing out at the crew and Oh manhandling the studio stooge. A behind the scenes slideshow and a thirteen minute gag reel round off the package.
The summary
A dramedy of heart-piercing proportions. Sideways is a character case study with a faultless tempo, excellent performances, and an impeccable idea of perfect cinematic language.
