Men, Women & Children (2014)

5/5

Jason Reitman's latest film is an utterly absorbing, thought-provoking film. It is a movie about kids growing up and couples growing apart, about technology and communication, and about interaction and isolation. An ensemble drama, it follows several threads: a husband (Sandler) and wife (DeWitt) who start cheating on each other, a mother (Garner) who safeguards her daughter (Dever) from the dangers of the Internet, another mother (Greer) who seems to do the opposite, and a high schooler (Elgort) who gives up football for online gaming.

The topic of technology leading to isolation has been done before (the aptly-titled Disconnect tackles the issue exceptionally well). But Men, Women & Children is not about technology. It is about coming of age in modern society. And it teaches us all about that in devastating, funny, touching ways. The title tells you the focus of the film; it is about the individuals that make up society, not the technology. Each story feels heartfelt and true, rich with subtext and hidden meaning. The performances are subtle, with big names playing small roles. Despite restrained acting, the movie does occasionally veer into melodrama. But on the whole, it reflects life accurately in both tone and color.

People will talk about this movie for its depiction of technology, because everything is replicated with precision. The UI is spot-on, whether we're looking at Facebook on a computer or a text message on an iPhone. Even the sounds of notifications ring true to our 21st century ear. But Reitman takes it one step further. The way he shows technology is itself a comment on technology. Screens pop up and overlay the action with every bowed head. They may sit in the background, but they never go away. As audience members, we find our eyes drawn to the neighbors' Twitter feed instead of the protagonists' actions. Is this how we live now, looking down everytime we feel a buzz when something else is going on right in front of our very eyes?

The big problem with being so pixel-perfect is that it securely sets Men, Women & Children in this time and place. User interfaces and interaction metaphors change at an ultrafast pace, which may date this movie just 6 months from now. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I'll have a very different perspective watching this movie 20 years from now. Not just because the change in technology will make this movie look and feel old, but because life will have happened to me. I will start to recognize the nuance in characters' motivations; I will be hit harder by the mistakes they make and touched more profoundly by the affection they show. And that's what this movie gets so right. That's why I can't wait to watch this movie again: 20 years from now and hopefully many times in between.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3179568/

Young Adult (2011)

3/5

Jason Reitman's Young Adult is somewhat of a diversion from his earlier comedies (Thank You for Smoking, Juno). It follows the story of young adult fiction writer Mavis Gary (Theron), who returns to her small town of Mercury after learning that her high school boyfriend (Wilson) has just had a child. Aiming to ruffle some feathers and win him back, she accidentally bumps into someone else she went to high school with: Matt Freehauf (Oswalt). Matt walks with a cane, after having been beat up back in high school for supposedly being gay, and tries to convince her not to ruin the new couple's life. But he can only do so much, because he's not the only one with old wounds.

Ultimately, I think this movie takes a sobering look at the terrors of high school relationships, how awful and cruel those interactions can be, and how they can stir up primal emotions our evolutionarily-mature cerebral cortices should be able to inhibit. High school can be painful, and filled with painful memories, even in the most well-adjusted graduate. It's where we first develop a sense of superiority, a sense of insecurity, or a sense of dependency--and also a sense of self. It's a far more complex movie than any trailer could do justice to, and perhaps than even the film itself can. It is a funny movie, in the sense that there are sarcastic jokes and awkward moments, but it's also a very sad story, in the sense that we are faced by depressing realities. But for me, it was just hard to get into. There is more focus on the editing than the dialogue, more emphasis on the representation of the characters than the people who live these lives. It's a dark comedy, intelligently told, and wholly unlike Reitman's earlier works. If you decide to watch this movie, just go in knowing what to expect.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1625346/

Up in the Air (2009)

4/5

Jason Reitman's Up in the Air is a film that sidesteps your expectations and delivers something surprisingly moving. The plot follows a professional "termination engineer" Ryan Bingham (Clooney) as he fires employees for bosses who don't want to do it themselves. He takes prides in the number of frequent flier miles he earns and the freedom he enjoys by not tying himself to a home or to friends. On a trip he meets Alex (Farmiga) and they begin a casual romance. His paradigm becomes endangered when a new Cornell grad named Natalie Keener (Kendrick) proposes online employment transition, allowing them to save 85% on travel costs. Clooney is forced to take her with him on his next few trips to show her the tricks of the trade and why her online termination plan will never succeed.

The acting was fine, but some of the characters' interactions seemed a bit too forced and written. Farmiga's character was confusing for the sake of being confusing, to produce the illusion of complexity and to advance the plot, instead of feeling realistic and true. It took me a little while after seeing the movie to realize that the focus is not on Clooney and Farmiga's relationship. It is instead on Clooney's worldview, his vulnerability, and his transition into the future. And quite frankly, that's much more interesting than a movie about their relationship anyway.

The intro credit sequence was probably my favorite part of the entire movie. Never in my life did I imagine myself saying that for a series of aerial images of the American heartland with "This Land Is Your Land" playing in the background. But they made magic out of nothing, it seems. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie was never quite as good as those first two minutes. The comedy was brisk, producing some clever moments as well as some laugh out loud moments, but after a while it seemed to depend a bit too much on the use of swear words as punchlines. The movie is a good one, but understand that it may not be about the same thing you think it's about. Also, it just doesn't live up to the bar Reitman set for himself with his amazing previous films, Thank You for Smoking and Juno.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/

Juno (2007)

5/5

Jason Reitman's Juno is the story of a precocious sixteen year old girl who accidentally gets pregnant and decides to give her baby up for adoption. This bittersweet comedy-drama glosses over some harsher realities of the scenario, but what movie doesn't omit aspects it feels are irrelevant to its purpose? This movie leaves out the more obvious, more serious tangents of unplanned pregnancies so it can transcend the specific situation and focus on more universal themes. It deals with love in an uncertain world, growing up and staying young, wanting what we don't have, and having what we don't want. There are no bad guys, only mistakes and regret. And second chances. And that's life.

Ellen Page's Juno is a marvel to behold. Even so, Reitman understands that this story is about more than just one girl, and so he allows all of the characters to breathe and fully develop. Every single one is perfectly offbeat. The complexity and depth and pathos the actors infuse their characters with is absolutely spellbinding. They are given a tender script and truly make the most of it. The editing is impeccably precise, both in terms of comedic timing as well as plot progression and pacing. No joke or scene is lingered on too long. The music is essential to the feel of the movie, and exists almost as another character in the story. Think of it as an omniscient narrator of emotions.

I was a bit disappointed by the cinematography. There was nothing wrong with it, but it just seemed like a step down compared with Thank You for Smoking. Also, I could've done with less voice-over narration and more Rainn Wilson. But honestly, these are not legitimate complaints because they only exist when people look for them so they can put something in the "cons" paragraph of their review.

This movie is a whirlwind experience of emotions; you have to sit and wait a couple minutes after the credits start rolling to fully appreciate what you've just seen. Even now, a day after seeing it, I can't get it out of my mind. Next to It's A Wonderful Life, this is the closest I can remember coming to crying out of pure happiness. For celluloid to lift your spirits to the rafters, what more could you ask for in a movie?

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0467406/

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

5/5

Thank You for Smoking is, quite frankly, amazing. It is one of the few comedies I've seen that I think can be considered a film and not just entertainment. What separates it from its comic contemporaries is that it's made with a love for the craft of filmmaking. There is a desire to fill every frame with beauty, to tell the story and jokes through moving pictures instead of words, to go above and beyond merely adequate and take full advantage of all the medium has to offer. The plot centers on Nick Naylor, spokesperson for big tobacco, as he fights lobbyists who want to put an image of skull and crossbones on cigarette packs. But that is not what the movie is about. It is about him being a father, raising a child who looks up to him like he's God. It is about argument, communication, and language. It is about people who change and people who don't; it is about coming to terms with one's purpose.

Every character is fully realized, thanks to excellent writing, casting, directing, and most importantly acting. And everyone is hilarious. I never found myself wishing the "funny" people would be on screen more, because they were all funny. The editing is incredible. Nothing is lingered on, our interest is piqued at every second, and the comic timing is flawless. The character and plot development unfold with ease and the most pristine pacing I've seen in a comedy since Charlie Chaplin. CGI is used subtly to accentuate the humor already there without drawing attention to itself. The dialogue is spot-on. Every joke hits with unerring precision. The camerawork and compositions are truly breathtaking, more evocative than most movies and on par with the best. Every single technical aspect is there in full force. And it is a fulfilling film, a satisfying one. After you stop laughing, you realize you learned something important, you gained more than just a quick euphoric feeling. You witnessed art.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0427944/