All The Real Girls

[bix171]

Nothing even remotely real here. David Gordon Green’s pretentious, threadbare “small” picture about love in a North Carolina mill town is preternaturally arty with its self-conscious underacting, fragmented narrative and postcard-pretty cinematography all designed to con you into thinking it’s sophisticated, thoughtful and suggestive. The story provided by Green and his lead actor Paul Schneider finds supposed lothario Paul realizing his newfound love for his best friend Tip’s sister Noel (Zooey Deschanel) and having to defend that decision to the overprotective Tip. But somewhere midway Green loses interest in his story, preferring instead to meander through his over-intellectualized version of small town living (his screenplay is filled with arch dialogue coming incongruously from the mouths of working-class stiffs); when he decides to return, he does so with an illogical twist that bares the film’s superficiality. The performers appear far too old for the romanticized notions of young love Green seems to idealize and he consistently undermines them by making them flawed into unlikability. (Paul turns out to be an unresponsive, selfish lover and Noel suddenly becomes incapable of making well-thought decisions). Though there’s more drama in the second half and some touching moments of closure, the film by then has managed to cross the line into a preening silliness from which it cannot recover. With the insufferable Patricia Clarkson, who has managed to make a career for herself as every independent filmmaker’s definitive mom. You can tell your kids that the voice of Strong Bad on homestarrunner.com plays a character called Strong Bad—they’ll know what you’re talking about.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by bix171
Nothing even remotely real here.

How can I argue with that? Your definition of "real" is as valid as mine (or anyone's) yet clearly incongruent with mine, at least this time. I realize you're not the only one who dislikes, for instance, certain scenes between Paul and Noel, particularly the "arch" dialogue. I think that's precisely something that makes Mr. Green's script so special is its ability to depict the play-acting, the saying and doing things for effect, that young lovers often show during early stages of relationships. The sometime silly "in-games". I also felt quite different about characters you find "flawed into unlikability", but who's to argue about feelings. Paul is not the first 20-sumthin playa who lies to get laid and wants to change once in love. Noel is not the first inexperienced 18 y.o. who talks silly at times and makes a mistake. I still like them.

We've debated All The Real Girls here before. Treadman wrote that David Gordon Green "is the new Terrence Malick, only more prolific" and called it "the best so far this year". Howard and Chris had a mixed reaction, with some complaints similar to yours but as many good comments. Chris wrote regarding Green: "maybe I felt that way about John Cassavetes in the 60s". Well I feel exactly the same way and I'm grateful. I wasn't expecting a new under-30 Cassavetes to appear, not one as perceptive about landscape as Malick, not one as specific about Southern locales as Ross McElwee.