By Ron Wilkinson Oct 11, 2009, 15:36 GMT
A haunting exploration into men’s minds that becomes too much of a psychological study to qualify as accessible entertainment for most
Director John Krasinski has either tapped into an oil field or a mine field in this his fist directorial product. Krasinski emerged through the very successful TV comedy series and most recently had the lead role in the touching coming-of-age drama “Away We Go.” This film is the polar opposite of a TV comedy. It is a soul searching psycho-drama that pulls out every stop in drilling down into the very depths of men’s souls. “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men” was recently nominated for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for a Dramatic film.
Julianne Nicholson (“Kinsey”) plays Sara Quinn a graduate student trying to get some significant new research for her doctoral thesis relating to feminist studies. She is studying under one Professor Adams played by Timothy Hutton who also plays one of the dozen or so “subjects” that appear throughout the film. Hutton is best known for his smashing Oscar award winning Best Supporting Actor performance at 21 years of age in 1981 in “Ordinary People.” Recently he has come out of the woodwork with a striking performance in “Lymelife” as virus afflicted and cuckolded suburban husband Charlie Bragg.
Student Sara is struggling to find the focus for her thesis while at the same time recovering from a heartbreaking romantic relationship with Ryan (played by John Krasinski). As she discusses the possibilities with Professor Adams her conversations rattle and ricochet through the film as she homes in on more truth than she bargained for. Determining that the truth about women lies within men she embarks on a series of interviews to plumb the depths of the male approach to intimacy and men’s understanding of the opposite sex.
The screenplay by Krasinski and co-writer David Foster Wallace creates a most remarkable arc in Sara’s development by allowing her to say very little and the men she interviews to say a lot. Her own shock and mixed emotions come out in the words of the men she interviews. Or perhaps we in the audience are so able to express and feel Sara’s feeling based on what this group of total strangers is telling us that we don’t need any further dialog. In any event, less is more and Sara’s amazement is created and realized at the same time in the minds of those in the audience.
The film starts off like a romantic comedy with Ben Shenkman describing his approach to love-making and his practice of shouting “victory for the forces of democratic freedom” with every orgasm. Then follows some neutral ground with parties and public relationships in which men struggle to express their feelings about relationships. As time goes on the information snowballs into a wealth or a curse of inside looks into the common man and the tragic forces that often times contribute to his outlook on intimacy and the male identity.
Frankie Faison (as Subject #42) tells the story of how he grew up despising his father’s work as a restroom attendant in a fancy restaurant in the most astounding and other-worldly dream-like sequence. The description begins in the physical and ends in a trancelike state of exposition that is marvelously well-treated by the filmic medium.
Writer David Foster Wallace struggled with severe depression for over 20 years and took his own life about a year before the release of this film. It is a sad homage to the bittersweet truth of this story that he did not live to see the visual expression come to fruition.
Directed by: John KrasinskiWritten by: John Krasinski (screenplay) and David Foster Wallace (story)
Starring: Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton
Release: September 25, 2009MPAA: Not RatedRuntime: 80 minutes Country: USA Language: EnglishColor: Color
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