Sideways

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 10:32 am

A+, (and I almost NEVER rate a movie that high)

From the writer-director of "Election" and "About Schmidt" comes yet another intelligent, sensitive film about what it's REALLY like to be male in our society.

Great, great movie. Pretty light, but funny and very real. Every moment was directed and performed with a satisfying level of reality and storytelling. Nothing out of place, no agenda other than telling these characters' stories. Fantastic performances all around, especially Paul Giamanti (sp?), of "American Splendor" fame, who's character is so fully realized in both performance and writing that I was "in the moment" every step of the way.

It's a guy's movie, but not in the stuff blowing up way, rather in the painful and precisely accurate portrayal of a man who knows she wants him but doesn't have the self-confidence to follow through. At the core it's a basic love story, but it so deftly avoids even a single love story cliche.

I was reminded of "About Schmidt" several times, because of how it accurately portrays male emothional experiences not as if a woman were writing them and not as mere pre-pubescent bluster, but they way they really are.

Can't say enough great things about it. A smart, sometimes hilarious movie that guys will relate to more than women, but that is for "smart and sensitive" guys.

Only gripe: The movie is going for a very mild 1960's art film style at times, and the music reflects that. I think the score is weak and at times inappropriate. Halfway into the movie, and I was so plugged in that I didn't care.

mkilly · Post by **mkilly** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 12:01 pm

You forgot to mention "Citizen Ruth."

Alexander Payne's the name of the guy. I totally own all of his other films (though I only have "Ruth" on VHS) and they're great. This is an anomaly in that it isn't based in Nebraska, right?

erik · Post by **erik** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:12 pm

I liked this movie. It's like Thelmo and Luis, except with less suicide pacts. (Much less.) It's very much a chick movie for dudes, in that you could reverse the polarity on the gender of the four main characters, and women would eat this up. But as it is, I think there's lots that people of all genders will appreciate, too. Also, the stupid and insensitive among us.

There is an exchange from the movie "Closer" whose trailers I keep seeing, and the exchange goes something like this:

"Love bores you."

"No, love disappoints me."

I feel the same way about romantic comedies, in that I really really like ones that are well done, but hate ones that are half-assed. This one is really well done. I don't want to scare anyone away by saying that I liked the acting, but I did. There was lots of funny stuff, and lots of emotional stuff too. Like two of three times, the audience lets out a collective sigh.

Juuuuuuust enough metaphor sprinkled throughout to make it a movie that you can analyze, but never enough to make you roll your eyes because you're getting hit over the head with it. And the ending. Oh, the ending. I demand a good ending, and this ending was like, perfect. Exactly enough, not tacked on.

Plus, there's an Asian actress who used absolutely no martial arts in the film, so yay for breaking down Hollywood's cultural stereotypes.

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 8:50 pm

My wife and I have had a collective crush on that asian actress since we saw her in a lotto commerical about 10 years ago.

I agree absolutely about the ending. I also LOVE a great ending, and this one was top drawer. The ending was another example of potential chiches being avoided.

Post by jb » Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:39 am

c hack · Post by **c hack** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 12:37 am

Loved this. Solid A.

Jim of Seattle wrote:My wife and I have had a collective crush on that asian actress since we saw her in a lotto commerical about 10 years ago.

I always thought she was meh, but after seeing in Sideways that she has the perfectest waist ever, well sha-ZAM.

mkilly · Post by **mkilly** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:46 am

I'll concur with JB and give it an A-. It wasn't as good as Election, which I'd give a strong A, but it was better than About Schmidt, which I'd give a strong B. It's probably as good as Citizen Ruth. I liked the ending. My objection is with some of the writing and characterization; I really dug the score and acting and direction. Set design I didn't find extraordinary.

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 3:46 pm

Aw, come on, Marcus. How can you not love those sets? I especially loved the houses, and all the symmetrical designs.

My only qualm with this film was the ending, because it left a few things unclear. Which I guess was the point.

Spoilers Here

Particularly that message on Miles' answering machine. If she's calling because of a letter he wrote, wouldn't the smart decision on the part of Payne be to show Miles writing the letter? And if the implication was that Miles didn't, in fact, write a letter, and maybe Jack wrote one on his behalf, then I'm having a hard time buying that Jack would be able to write a letter capable of making Maya actually read that gigantic manuscript.

erik · Post by **erik** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:01 pm

Whether a letter was written or not (and who wrote said letter) is completely irrelevant.

[/15 of 16 of Borg]

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:14 pm

** SPOILERS **

I knew that she was going to call him after reading the manuscript the moment she ran off all pissed at him, thinking "but...there's that manuscript waiting to open things up again..."

I totally didn't expect the ending, and while its no act of poetic genius, it does what it does very well and yes, avoids chiche.

Other important observations: there was only male nudity (except the waitress under the big guy). Maya was gorgeous, older and not at all a dumb hot actress chick. The asian chick was certainly cute, but I didn't need her for this film to succeed. She is hot, though. And while there was no martial arts involved, she swung a mean helmut.

I give it an A-. The first half I was convinced I really didn't like the film. At the end I realised I loved it from about that same time on, but didn't know it yet. Acting was great. Had to lower the grade since it reminded me how fucking sucky it is to be allergic to red wine.

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:12 pm

15-16 puzzle wrote:Whether a letter was written or not (and who wrote said letter) is completely irrelevant.

[/15 of 16 of Borg]

Thpoilerth

Not to me. It makes a ton of difference in terms of Jack's character. If he wrote it, then he's a decent guy and the gesture of writing a letter on Miles' behalf would show that he understands the bullshit he put Miles through.

At least, that's why it matters to me. Not like I'm trying to convince anyone here.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:43 pm

SPOILERS MAYBE

If the director wanted you to pay attention to it, he would have put it in the movie. Same thing for ending the movie after him knocking on the door. The whole point is not that they fall in love, or even that they go on a date, or even that she's at home right now, the point is that he is being active and actually DOING something in his life instead of feeling like shit for NOT DOING something with his life. What happens after the door knock is irrelevant because the actual knock is more important that anything else that could come after it.

Similarly, if the director actually cared about who wrote the letter, then it would have been in the movie. (To be honest, I can't even remember if the phone message mentions a letter or not.) The character of Jack does not need a letter to redeem himself and prove that he understands the bullshit he puts Miles through because he's not putting him through bullshit, he's showing Miles how to change his life; how to take a chance and not "wear a seatbelt" as was alluded to in the last scene with Jack. To make it so that Jack wrote a letter for his friend completely undermines the way that the character of Jack has been painted throughout the whole movie. Jack's not going to baby his friend, because that's not what Miles needs. Miles needs to realize that value of doing things by himself, and the importance of taking chances, which he realized after going on the trip with Jack. That gift is so much more meaningful than some hypothetical irrelevant letter.

END OF MAYBE SPOILERS

[/yeah, but what happened AFTER the puke-o-rama]

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 5:18 pm

I agree about the knocking on the door bit, and I guess we'll agree to disagree about the letter.

mkilly · Post by **mkilly** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 6:07 pm

I don't know where the hell you got the idea that the letter wasn't written by Paul Giamatti's character. I didn't see anything that would suggest that--rereading your post, I guess you thought that because maybe it wasn't Miles that wrote it, it must've been Jack. That's not sensible. I don't even remember the girl mention anything about a letter; I just figured she finished the manuscript and called the guy, and then he took the initiative to go out and do that thing that's the ending, and so go team.

It actually reminded me of Swingers; they both ended with a phone call and then the main character not being so weinery.

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 11:07 pm

The more I think about the ending, the more it drags the film down for me. B.

SPOILER

The phone message mentions a letter repeatedly. I felt like I was being beaten over the head with it. That was suspicious to me, and then I got the idea that Paul Giamatti's character didn't write it because he wasn't shown writing it. If a letter was written, and the character isn't shown writing it, I should assume Payne had a good reason for not showing it, at the risk of confusing the audience.

But hey, you guys liked it, apparently.

erik · Post by **erik** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 11:32 pm

Generic wrote:letter

SPOILERS

I believe the message just mentions how much she liked what he had written: the long-ass manuscript for the book that he had given her the last time they saw each other.

END

Post by jb » Sun Jan 02, 2005 1:53 pm

SPOILERS BELOW

for crying out loud. time has passed, he's back at his job, sitting in class all miserable like. their trip happened in the summer-- he had a whole week for it after all. so the letter was something he wrote after the trip, to try to explain what happened and make himself feel better about the incident, and probably to try and give her an opportunity to continue contact if she wanted.

this makes total sense to me. it sounds like something i would do. i don't understand the controversy here.

then we skip some more time and see that he's made a call back to her and is going to visit. you're trying way too hard.

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 2:52 pm

SPOILER

Here it is many weeks after I first saw it and I'm still haunted by the epic look Miles gives from the car when he drops Jack off near the end. Jack is getting comforted by his fiancee, and being let into the house, and we see this long shot of Miles' face as he goes from being amused, grateful, lonely, self-deprecating, etc., etc., all in one silent shot. Amazing.

Mogosagatai · Post by **Mogosagatai** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:41 am

Man, what a great movie. Sadder than "Requiem for a Dream" for most of the movie, but funny and smart, too. I've never seen a movie that makes so many concessions to reality but still manages to be as magica and grippingl. I mean, that scene with the '61 bottle--man...

Calfborg · Post by **Calfborg** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:59 pm

roymond wrote:The first half I was convinced I really didn't like the film. At the end I realised I loved it from about that same time on, but didn't know it yet.

That was my reaction to it. Good movie.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:40 pm

<font size="4"><b>spoilers</b></font>

The movie was long, so cutting a scene in which a letter was written and showing Miles' disapointment when he checks the mail makes perfect sense. I'm not sure that all that much time has actually past... maybe a week... no way of knowing..just that it's a Friday.

I think the movie should have ended when he was drinking the wine in the fast food joint. I got the feeling that is where it could have ended and the character would have been complete. A somber but appropriate ending for a character who's part was simply to be the guy who takes the fall for his lucky friend even after seeing just a little light at the end of the perverbial tunnel. The person I was with predicted the message on the message machine. I thought that was a bit much but as everyone else has already mentioned...she had the manuscript and 'the connection' and he needed to go on the offense for a change and 'do something' with his life. Knocking on the door, as Erik put it, was a most symbolic ending.

I really really enjoyed this movie alot. Slow start...but tons of Charactor development on Mile's part. Jack 's cycle of his first mairrage with infidelity is just beginning.

clemato · Post by **clemato** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:31 pm

B+. This movie isn't worth the hype of "best movie of the year", but I definitely recognize how well made it is. I know quite a bit about wine and fine dining, so I found those points of the movie interesting, but if I didn't know anything about that, I think I would have been pretty annoyed and lost. Personally, I thought Eternal Sunshine deserved the "comedy/blacksheep" best picture nomination slot, instead of Sideways.