Junebug

[w/o horse]

I agree with this movie.  Um.  Let's see, I agree that this movie should have been made the way that it was and that all things considered. . .hey have you guys seen Phil Morrison?  I like his facial hair and attitude.  He didn't do commentary on this DVD but he did for his Sonic Youth video. 

Junebug.  I thought it was controlled and mature.  These two things are becoming important to me; qualities I admire.  The beginning was like 'CINEMA TWENTY OH FIVE' with playful film technique and then the film mellowed out and told its story.  Morrison let the actors do the walking.  He's a good director.  There was a lot of restraint in the writing as well.

Come to think of it a lot of under the surface movies are coming out right now.  That's fucking fantastic.

Junebug.  I liked it a lot.

[Split Infinitive]

A quickie review.

Junebug (2005)

Sometimes a movie is all about one performance, the announcement of a rising star or the glorious second coming of a confirmed idol. In 2002, Maggie Gyllenhaal "arrived" by leaving her calling card with "Secretary." Besides rather hating the film, Gyllenhaal still hasn't done anything to clue me in on what the hubbub was all about. The same cannot be said of Amy Adams, whose glowing performance in the 2005 film "Junebug," now available on DVD, is woven with the fibers of untapped talent. As Ashley, the terminally pregnant, overlooked Madonna of a dysfunctional Southern family, Adams crafts a character who is essentially very simple; almost one-dimensional. When Ashley's brother-in-law (Alessandro Nivola) and his new bride (Embeth Davidtz) arrive so Ashley's sister-in-law can woo an eccentric, racist local artist (surreptitiously named David Wark, an in-joke for film buffs), Ashley attaches herself to the exotic, British art dealer at the hip. She takes her to the mall, does her nails, asks inappropriate personal questions and does so with all the open innocence of a child who still hasn't accepted that her pet caterpillar never emerged from its cocoon because she didn't poke pinholes in the lid of the jar.

Starved for attention but too Christian and too generous to demand it, Ashley is struck dumb with the attention Davidtz's exotic Madeleine pays her out of common decency. It's a complex portrayal of an underwritten character. The other forgotten member of the household is the father, Eugene, played with absentminded grace by Scott Wilson, a performance that complements Adams' note-for-quiet-note.

"Junebug" is a meandering slice of Southern life that racks up dozens of astute little observations without ever scratching beneath the surface. While there is perhaps more to say about what the film means or may say about "family," it isn't important. Director Phil Morrison's film is not about Ashley but for the viewer, she is the center of the galaxy. Adams' stunning performance will be spinning round your head long after the sardonic yodel of the film has faded away.

[matt35mm]

By the way, Will Oldham is in this.  He's one of the 3 art scout people at the beginning.  I hadn't really noticed until I watched it the second time and saw his name in the credits.

This is one of my favorites from a lackluster year.  This would be in my top 10 of any year, but this year it's either 2 or 3.  I dunno, I didn't really make a top 10 list, but I do know that I loved this movie, and bought it as soon as it came out on DVD.  It's such its own thing in its own world that, even if this isn't the masterpiece of all times, I was deeply involved for every minute of it.  Adams's performance was magnificent, but I disagree that the movie is just a house for her performance.  Her performance fit in this movie perfectly the way a person like Ashley fits in a world like the one Junebug creates.

I felt that this movie took the time and effort to establish a relationship with me, and I really appreciated that.  There were odd, delicate flavors that I felt honored to experience.  I guess that's a strange way to describe the experience of seeing the movie, but that's how I felt.  Or maybe I'm just hungry.

Grade: A.

[Gamblour.]

This film is so incredible. The nuance of Southern culture is perfectly captured. My favorite scene was where the Pastor buddy prayed and then they sang. This film is so smart. And Ashley is such a sweetheart. The kid from the OC is channeling some Russell Crowe via Heath Ledger in Brokeback, though that came out later. He was good, cast was great. So impressive.

[MacGuffin]

Q&A: Morrison Makes His Debut in 'Junebug'

"Junebug" was one of 2005's most critically acclaimed films. Director Phil Morrison and screenwriter Angus MacLachlan returned to their rural hometown near Winston-Salem, N.C., and skillfully examined universal themes. The result is a funny, bittersweet, thoughtfully presented story.

The Associated Press spoke with Morrison about dysfunction, North and South and Meet Me In St. Louis.

AP: In his review of 'Junebug,' Roger Ebert said the tone is everything. How did you establish and maintain that tone?

Morrison: The way I did that was to behave during the making of Junebug like I was an audience member to kind of see directing a movie as being the most privileged audience member of the movie. Also, I think it helped that in advance of shooting the movie I gave everybody in the cast and crew tons of music and even poems I had put together that were kind of meant to feel the same way as the movie.

AP: So everyone was on a similar wavelength?

Morrison: Hopefully. I think we couldn't have made the movie if we hadn't gathered everyone on a similar wavelength. It wasn't a sense of, 'We gotta make this movie no matter what and even if people can't be involved, we'll just get somebody else.' There was a time when Celia Weston (who plays Peg) wasn't going to be available and it was like, 'OK, then we just won't make it.' And it wasn't just like we were going to postpone it. It really meant that we had to accept the fact that if we couldn't make it right then, we wouldn't make it at all. But I would have rather not made it at all than made it without Celia. So it was kind of just being patient.

AP: The film is filled with great lines like 'God loves you just the way you are, but too much to let you stay that way.'

Morrison: Well, there's a story behind that line. That line wasn't in the script. There's this really great church in Winston-Salem, where we shot the movie and is my hometown, called Green Street Methodist church. Kelly Carpenter, the minister there, said that line a couple of weeks before we started shooting. Amy Adams and I were there at that service. When he said that everybody laughed and we decided Ashley had to say that in the movie somewhere. So he gets credit for that line.

AP: Martin Scorsese says that making a movie is one giant endless labor pain. Was 'Junebug' a difficult shoot?

Morrison: For me it was. And it was important for me to try to have it not be painful for other people just for the sake of the tone and spirit of the final movie. I'd be lying to you if I said I was having a great time. I know what Mr. Scorsese's talking about when he says that. It's stressful, there's a lot to worry about and every day, every moment almost, things are not going the way you predicted they would. You have to figure out a way to have what happens in front of the camera be, or at least feel like, what you wanted in the beginning.

AP: 'Junebug' has been seen as a study of social differences between North and South.

Morrison: I accept that. I think it would be silly of me to say I don't know what they're talking about, but that wasn't really what the movie was meant to be about. The movie came out around the time that people were still talking about Red States and Blue States and people saw the movie and that's something that they saw in it even though we weren't really meaning to press that.

AP: Ashley and Madeleine have been getting well deserved praise, but I find George fascinating in both his loyalty to his family and his detachment from his family. Do you feel close to George in any way?

Morrison: I hope that I don't behave the way he does. But at the same time I can relate to his circumstances. I don't think that he behaves responsibly. I think that in these couple of days when the movie takes place, he's not particularly responsible. I think he's a little bit lazy. I don't think he helps people out that much.

AP: But in the hospital Ashley says to him, 'You make me feel better more than anyone else and you don't even say anything.'

Morrison: But maybe Ashley needs that extra helping hand that everybody needs. I don't want to sound like I'm beating up on him in this conversation but I think he is just a little bit frozen. He kind of has two different personas and if he had been home without Madeleine I think he would have been much more comfortable. And when he is with Madeleine without his family I think he could be very comfortable. But having them both there, he wonders, 'Which person am I supposed to be? The one that I created over time with my family or the one I've created for my wife?'

AP: What are some of your favorite films?

Morrison: I love 'Meet Me In St. Louis,' it's about family and it was inspiring to me. I love Charles Burnett's 'To Sleep With Anger,' it definitely had an influence on 'Junebug.' I love Jonathan Demme's 'Citizen's Band' and 'Melvin and Howard' because I think they're so funny. I really wanted Junebug to be funny.

[Gamblour.]

Thanks Mac.

[NEON MERCURY]

you guys are doing the same thing to this film like broken flowers and maria full of grace...this is nothing new or special...all three of those films are way overrated...its a shame for junebug b/c i was excited to see nivola..i've like the gyy since face/off...i was young and thought he was just cool....so, them i saw this crap and while i liked his performance the overall film is boring...and too quirky...and people are making a big deal out of the adams character...i think the reason why is b/c hollywood critics arent use to seeing a woman in the south doing the famous "southern hospitality" thing..nomally they see southern woman in derogatory light...like fat, three teethed, alchoholic,crack whores...etc....the film is very unsatisfying...but i thought that embeth davidtz was gorgeous...

or i could have that same disease that kept pete from liking lost in translation....

[polkablues]

or i could have that same disease that kept pete from liking lost in translation....

Bad taste is more of a condition than a disease.

[modage]

or i could have that same disease that kept pete from liking lost in translation....

you probably don't.  i've only been interested in seeing this since it got released on dvd and people still remember it (oscar noms, best of lists).  i had bet against that when it was in theatres forever ago but the overall positivity and lastingness through to this year i figured it might be pretty good.  my expectations are back to not expecting much which probably works in the films favor.  i guess we'll see whenever the damn film gets off a "Long Wait" from netflix where it's been for weeks at the top of my queue. 

[pete]

dude I've got Christopher Doyle on my side.  who do you have on your side against this Junebug? (me)

[w/o horse]

It didn't feel to me like Junebug went out of its way to be quirky at all.  And yeah, that probably means my life is more like Junebug than someone else who thinks this one is quirky and thinks Me and You isn't at all.  Normal - it's getting harder to pin down you know.  I want to say Junebug had everyday people who made everyday decisions and that I never once felt they were even a little weird but maybe that's because I'm from Ohio and people are kind of like those people while nothing at all like Me and You people.  Which is good, it's good cinema is diversifying.  Me, I'm on Junebug's side.

I agree with what neon is saying about the Adams character, but I'm confused because he first called the film quirky.  So which is it, that she's a fraction of reality often mislooked or she's weird?

[Gold Trumpet]

I'm with Neon on this one. My responce after watching the film was so null and void I couldn't even bring myself to write a negative review. The film inspired no feelings in me at all. Its not that the film is even quirky. Its just very regional. So regional in fact I imagined members of the filmmakers family and friends were the only ones who could thoroughly enjoy watching this movie.

[Gamblour.]

i think the reason why is b/c hollywood critics arent use to seeing a woman in the south doing the famous "southern hospitality" thing..nomally they see southern woman in derogatory light...like fat, three teethed, alchoholic,crack whores...etc

I'm no hollywood critic, but I live in the south. And this film is so truthful it's beautiful. the scene where the neighbor waves to the British woman (it's late, I"ve forgotten names) says it all. also, the baby shower.

[MacGuffin]

Not that I'm siding with GT and NEON, because I didn't think the film was 'quirky' or 'regional', but I guess I missed what all the praise is about. It felt like the film missed the balance between laughing at the characters (the painter, the brother) and appreciating the 'offness' of the others (the father, the sister-in-law); and the balance between a fish-out-of-water story and a disfunctional family story. I guess I couldn't figure out what the film was trying to be.

[godardian]

Not that I'm siding with GT and NEON, because I didn't think the film was 'quirky' or 'regional', but I guess I missed what all the praise is about. It felt like the film missed the balance between laughing at the characters (the painter, the brother) and appreciating the 'offness' of the others (the father, the sister-in-law); and the balance between a fish-out-of-water story and a disfunctional family story. I guess I couldn't figure out what the film was trying to be.

It's eerie how exactly identical that is to the opinion a friend of mine expressed upon seeing the film recently. I remember thinking it neither regional nor quirky--I guess I took it more in a post-election red-state/blue-state exploration way, and I remember being impressed at the delicacy and the nonchalant quality of it all. No character was judged in the way they might've been. I remember it being very slice-of-life and gentle, interested in all the characfters and not really vehement enough about anything to need to strike a balance (which could, I suppose, be its own criticism if one thinks that way of going about it is boring or a copout).

BUT--I haven't seen it since its release, so I'd have to revisit it to be more articulate. Which I might do soon, though I have so many other movies to catch up on. I really need to see the pre-Piano Teacher Haneke films and Walk the Line before going back to something so recent.