The Spectacular Now - Review

THE SPECTACULAR NOW 

2013

15

Directed by James Ponsoldt

Starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley and Kyle Chandler 

Sutter Keely is a popular high school senior. He loves to party, has a job, a car, a drink in his hand and a pretty girlfriend who thinks he's hysterical. Aimee Finecky is a sweet girl who loves sci-fi and doesn't think any guy would like her. Although she has ideas and aspirations for the future, he appears to be content living for each day, in the spectacular now.

As a project The Spectacular Now had come to be without much fanfare and hard sell. Its limited release and lack of marketing in the UK particularly meant no preconceptions or expectations as to the films quality; taking a film at face value, independent of hype, is rare. It was however certifiably fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, doing well on metacritic and at a strong 7.2 on IMDb. And rightly so, because The Spectacular Now is wonderful.

It is a coming-of-age romantic comedy but it is far more subtle and sincere than expected. Films of this ilk are perennial and often if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Yet The Spectacular Now does accurately embody the attitude of young adults and shows how much a strongly held attitude towards life can change as a result of who you meet. It's soulful, authentic and captures that age where you are on the cusp of shaping yourself and it could go any which way. The dialogue and set up is so unembellished and normal that it becomes something very special. Especially by comparison to the overtly sexed up, stilted and formulaic foolishness such as The First Time (and to a certain extent Project X, which however is good, but for entirely different reasons.)

Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are a delight to watch: charming, realistic and natural. There was some lovely long takes with exchanges between the two that are so well scripted and executed. The late and great Roger Ebert said that 'being young is a solemn business when you really care about someone' and I couldn't put it any better. Both Sutter and Aimee are wonderful characters because they are funny and likeable, multifaceted but also flawed. Under all of Sutter's bravado is someone who isn't quite sure what he wants and perhaps isn't that confident after all. The Spectacular Now is gripping and engrossing but in a non flashy way. It's not showy and gaudy, it's restrained and venerable. 

Rating: 7

Like Crazy - Review

LIKE CRAZY


12A

2011

Directed by Drake Doremus

Starring Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence

Like Crazy tells the story of a British college student who falls in love with an American classmate. They are then separated when she is banned from the US after overstaying her visa in order to stay with him. A long distance relationship ensues…

It’s not that this film is bad (on the contrary there are many lovely aspects of it), but it’s just not particularly good. Independent romance films aren’t boring; you only need to look at Blue Valentine to see how it’s done well, but Like Crazy is slightly bland. Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin are fine actors, but this leading role where they take up the majority of the movie is too large a feat. The characters themselves are not striking and they are never actually introduced so it’s hard to form an audience relationship with them. All it takes is the arrival of Jennifer Lawrence’s character to show how much of a difference an actor with a bit more charisma and presence can make to the film, it is better after she’s introduced.

The photography and the editing are absolutely beautiful; there’s a naturalistic quality about the way the movie is shot which is refreshing and charming. But the fact still remains that this is a very slow film, which is ironically only 90 minutes long.

It’s a simple romance and an ancient dilemma, but sadly this film never gets chance to really sing.

Rating: 3