By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Gus Van Zant
Starring: Henry Hopper | Lusia Strus | Mia Wasikowska | Ryo Kase | Schuyler Fisk
Country: united_states
Year: 2011
Running time: 91
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1498569/
Thom says: “Gus Van Sant has long been one of my favorite directors with his only real flop being EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES which he reportedly made during his period of being totally distraught after the tragic death of River Phoenix at such a young age. He’s even had a FILM-OF-THE-YEAR for me with MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1991). With no such excuse I’m not certain what went wrong here, although many things come to mind. Most blatantly is if you can imagine Mia Wasikowska as Ruth Gordon think HAROLD AND MAUDE. All right that’s a bit of a stretch but the stories are otherwise nearly identical. Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper looking like a hard to imagine adorable version of his father Dennis) has had his parents perish in an automobile accident which he survived and having moved in with an aunt in Portland (Van Sant’s favorite locale).He’s suspended from school for roughhousing and spends his time talking to an imaginary friend (a failed Kamikaze pilot) and attending funeral services for people he doesn’t know and he meets Annabel (Wasikowska) cute and they slowly emerge as lovers and then he discovers she’s dying of cancer. Hopper doesn;t have enough experience to carry off his difficult role and the film is only a stopgap in Wasikowska’s career. The characters need to be outstandingly appealing for the story to be cohesive and there’s nothing new to offer here. 2 cats”