Back when Sundance was on, I suggested 5 films that anyone hoping to visit the festival should try to catch. No.2 of that list (just below ‘Four Lions’) was the upcoming film ‘Enter the Void’ by critically acclaimed French director Gaspar Noe.
This week the American trailer was released. This film looks truly stunning but be warned. As the title of this post suggests, if you’re epileptic you may not want to watch this.
This trailer is more revealing then the previous French one and focuses far more on plot development. I personally think the French one is darker and more enticing so watch it below.
‘The Squid and The Whale’ was a brilliant film that captured two kids caught between the battle of their divorcing parents. It was as poignant as it was funny. A drama about family life that contained the perfect mix of self-deprecation and self-affirmation which helped director Noah Baumbach gain a cult fan base.
I saw this film in the cinema when I was 15 and was blown away. It opened up a world of cinema of which I had previously been unaware. I discovered the likes of Jim Jarmusch and delved deeper into the current flock of independent American directors.
It’s been five years since then and this is Baumbach’s second film to come out during that time. Also during that time, the independent American scene has seen an influx of films directed at young adults exploring relationships, entitled ‘mumblecore’. ‘Greenberg’ reflects this. Two veterans (Are they old enough to be called this?) of the scene appear in the movie.
The main being Greta Gerwig, who plays the love interest in the film but is also the character the audience is pushed to connect with. The first ten minutes or so are dedicated to her. The audience need a figure who is instantly likable.
This is because the character Greenberg is cold and often distant. He is a difficult figure to warm to. This makes the film an uncomfortable watch as the plot largely follows Greenberg’s routine which mostly sees him ignoring anybodies’ emotional problems and selfishly focusing on his.
Ben Stiller‘s performance is a lovely stripped back affair, proving (along with ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’) that Stiller, when not playing the clown, can actually produce believable characterisations. The chemistry between Stiller’s midlife crisis loner and Gerwig’s naive student is awkward but is what brings the film to life.
Baumbach has produced a great character piece in ‘Greenberg’, filled with the self-deprecation that made ‘The Squid and The Whale’ such a great film. It doesn’t hit the same heights and is unlikely to win Baumbach any new fans but for those of us already familiar with him, this does the job nicely.
