|
Forwardcharm |
 |
Latest News 09 / 03 / 2010 08 / 03 / 2010 17 / 02 / 2010 16 / 02 / 2010 31 / 01 / 2010 25 / 10 / 2009 02 / 08 / 2009 18 / 08 / 2005 |
Sideways
Directed by Alexander Payne. Story: Two middle-aged college buddies take a road trip through California wine country. Running Time: 2hrs 3 minutes. Certificate 15.
I'm going to jump straight out on a limb here with a controversial opinion - I think Sideways is the kind of film that people like because they think they should. Mind you, I think that about Shakespeare too. There's always one film come Oscar time that people like to talk about having seen, because it makes them seen intellectual and among the cognoscenti. Personally, I didn't think it was as special as it's been made out to be. It'll win the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar though, it's that kind of film. For all its ordinariness though, it's still pretty entertaining and is an adequate choice for those who like talkie movies rather than shootie ones.
Sideways is for people who think they're clever. It's very well directed (Alexander Payne previously directed the fabulous About Schmidt), it's crammed full of metaphors and stuff to think about, and it will definitely stand multiple viewings if you like it the first time. However, if you don't like caviar and you don't know a Pinot from a peanut, then I suspect you will see what I did - a fairly ordinary but entertaining story about ordinary people and their ordinary lives. I reckon as a rough guide, if you like Shakespeare, you'll "get" Sideways. I enjoyed this film: I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: We see a "real" woman (i.e. heavier than a supermodel) getting banged by a fat bloke, but then the fat bloke runs towards us with all the floppy bits flapping all over the place. Ew. To enjoy this film you should: appreciate Shakespeare.
|
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh.
Sideways follows depressive wine connoisseur Miles as he joins his college room-mate Jack for one final boy's weekend
away before Jack's wedding. That is, "boy's weekend" in their terms. Miles is content with tasting fine local wines
and demonstrating his abundant social and psychological problems, while Jack is up for picking up chicks and getting laid.
Miles is an interesting character, inasmuch as we don't have any of them in England, yet they are rife in the US.
Miles is an intelligent man and no doubt likes to attend dinner parties, relating witty anecdotes and generally
feeling good about being smart, but at the same time carrying apocalyptic personality flaws.
So far this describes many English people, but he also has the self-assurance that comes with being American that a
humble Brit can only dream of. Not that he's confident, just that there is a deep-seated belief that it's OK to be him.
Because of the British tendency to brush things under the carpet and maintain the stiff upper lip,
most Brits have exactly the opposite inner belief, that everyone else is naturally better and that it's amazing that
we've even survived this long without being stricken from the human race for being generally crap. This defect in the
British psyche makes it hard for us to relate to Miles, and we end up wanting to see him fail.
When the fellow wine-loving waitress Maya (Virginia Madsen) shows up, it becomes inconceivable to British eyes that she
could even bear to be in the same room as Miles, let alone flirt with him. This is addressed somewhat by a beautiful
scene in which both Miles and Maya discuss why they love wine so much - this scene stands out as the focal point of the
movie and will undoubtedly be the clip used on Oscar night.
Both Paul Giamatti (Miles) and Virginia Madsen deliver excellent performances - Giamatti is the perfect choice for Miles -
and it is their burgeoning relationship
that is the driving force of the film. Alongside this, we also gain some light relief by following Jack's fickle conquests.
There are some light-hearted moments, but really they're not comedy, they're more
mood-setters to lift the tone rather than raise a chuckle. People were laughing in the cinema, however I can't help
feeling that it was because they felt they should find it funny in case they appeared dim, rather than actually having
their funny bone tickled. It's this kind of intellectual élitism that encourages the viewer to forgive Miles even though
he steals from his mother, and to conveniently not notice that they drive home after downing copious amounts of
crashing juice. At one point they even drink champagne WHILE driving. Actually, now I come to write about it, Miles
is a bit of a shit.
