For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Ceremony
The Impression:
From the looks of the trailer, this film seems another entry
in to the much loved Wes Anderson/Noah Baumbach world.
Quirky characters exist in a beautiful framed world of
beautiful people doing quirky things. I’m intrigued, but
worried about the possible redundancies.
The Reality:
Max Winkler, Henry Winkler’s son, is one of those lucky
bastards with all the talent in the world who could’ve just
grown up smoking weed next to his pool and taken his
eventual inheritance money and become a film producer when
his father kicked the bucket. But no no, instead he’s chosen
to become a director and his debut, the delightful
Ceremony, is a assured take on a well-trod story. Sam (a
finally impressive Michael Angarano) takes an old friend
Marshall (Reece Thompson) on a trip to upstate New York, to
"get him out of the house." Turns out Sam, an asshole of the
highest order, has dragged his dopey friend upstate to crash
the wedding of a glorified fling he can’t shake. Winkler
blew me away with his ability to chart the way we as humans
see our place in the world. Sam’s just a failed children’s
book writer, but he wants to be so much more, and the films
slow dissolution of this opportunity is at times
heart-breaking. Yes, it does drift dangerously close to the
perimeters of Baumbach and Anderson, but the similarities
come across as influences, not blatant rip-offs. Lee Pace is
amazing as the bride-to-be’s ultra-cocky fiancé and Jake
Johnson continues to redefine the bro character in modern
cinema.
A fantastic first feature from a director to keep an eye on.
The Lesson:
Well, gee whiz, a new wave of directors influenced by my
favorite indie-darlings of the 1990s. Paint me excited. With
non-toxic paint, please.
- Noah Sanders
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