|
Away we go stars veteran tv actors John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live)as a content but also emotionally insecure 30 something couple trying to start a new life after finding out they are pregnant. Most of Sam Mendes' previous films have been about exploring various themes regarding family bonds. In American Beauty a man was estranged with his family, Road to perdition was about a man trying to keep his family together, Revolutionary Road was about a dysfunctional couple trying to deal with their incompatibility. Away We Go doesn't deviate from Mendes' preoccupation with family with the main emotional theme revolving around a couple's insecurity and sense of belonging. This movie has a much more optimistic tone than Mendes' previous films but the flaws are also much greater as there just doesn't seem to be enough emotional weight for a viewer to maintain interest. The primary flaws are that we get writing and characters that would have certainly been interesting in a long character heavy tv drama like Six Feet Under but falls short in a feature film. In fact we have all seen the mostly white middle class suburban character archetypes before. The film is also full of rather quirky predictable indie dialogue poking fun at new ageism, insecurity, pregnancy, sex, etc.. with the usual jokes that makes it seem like a rehash of cable tv comedy/drama writing. An example of this is when the main characters Burt & Verona have dinner with a new age couple who turn out to be judgmental and hypocritical people who breastfeed their 4+ year old kid and refuses to push him in a stroller. A comedic confrontation arises when Burt calls them out on their abrasive condescending behavior. Now repeat this several times over with Burt & Verona encountering various other dysfunctional couples in their journey as they deal with their own insecurity with the predictable emotional payoff each time. That's Away We Go in a nutshell. This film often seems more like a film school exercise rather than an effort to create something original or compelling. All this gives a viewer a sense of familiarity with the characters and situations as we've probably seen it all before. Unfortunately this familiarity can breed a degree of contempt or in my case boredom. This is probably Mendes' weakest film to date but i'm sure a talented director like him has plenty to offer in the future. This is an alright film to watch with your significant other but it could be a chore to sit through with so many other entertaining alternatives. 2/5 Zombie Layne fucked around with this message at 08:09 on Oct 13, 2009 |
#
¿
Oct 13, 2009 08:06
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 19:32 |
|