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Junebug [2005]


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Subtle, Bittersweet and Moving
Review date: 2008-03-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

Junebug is a film that takes its time. It moves slowly through its simple narrative - a young woman who is newly married meets her husband's family for the first time while trying to negotiate an art deal close their home - and builds up its characters and their thoughts and feelings effectively.

Embeth Davidtz stars as Madeleine, an art dealer who marries George, a man from North Carolina. Six months later, she is trying to negotiate a deal with an eccentric painter from her husband's home town. The pair decide to kill two birds with one stone and visit the in-laws for the first time. This proves to be a daunting experience for Madeleine as the family seem uncaring about the visit and everyone apart from her awe struck sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams) is uninterested in her.

Ashley is nine months pregnant and ready to burst, although her husband Johnny does not seem to care about her or the baby. He is distracted and rude and it is soon revealed that he is still trying to pass high school - despite being married and in his early twenties - and get his diploma. Madeleine tries to help him but he soon echoes the rest of the family's feelings that she is an outsider trying to barge in to the family and flaunt her superior intellect and breeding.

The film is a wonderful snapshot of southern life and is so intimate and real that it is easy to forget that these are actors and not genuine people. The most realistic portrayal can be found in Ashley, who is played brilliantly by Amy Adams, who has recently found fame as Giselle in Enchanted.

The film centres around her wonderful supporting performance as the pregnant Ashley, who is married to the obnoxious and resentful Johnny. She is the heart of the film, always happy and smiling despite her husband - and the rest of his prickly family's - shortcomings. She is enchanted by Madeleine from the moment of her arrival, constantly asking questions and proclaiming that the two will be best friends forever.

Adams was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance but lost out to Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener. She is so endearing and tragic and seems to represent everything that the rest of the family would like to be: open, chatty and happy. It is a wonder that the film was not nominated for Best Original Screenplay too, as it is a skilful observation of life in a fragile family and a true gem of a film.

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Reviews


So Real, So Effective.....,
Review date: 2007-07-04 Rating: 8 out of 10

Everyone's been invited to a weekend at a friends house or spent a couple day's outside their own "world" I would think. This movie seems to attempt to capture that strange realm when you're at the mercy of the people and lives around you. It does this primarily through the eye's of a newly married, well traveled, socially confident and successful woman traveling 1000 miles south for work and also to meet her new husbands Methodist family.

The film is sometimes quirky, sometimes stark, and very naked in painting and seemingly portraying uneven and unfamiliar worlds. The scenes often have a very bare and vulnerable feel to them. The acting is great and the filmmaker involves the viewer intimately in every shot. This is a "day in the life of" kind of film which I am usually a sucker for so I found it engaging. Each person you meet is different and interesting. You don't really know where the story is going but you don't care because each scene commands your attention. Many scenes seem explicit in their nature with the indiscriminate snippets of the characters presented to us sitting alone, having sex, going to church, or buttering toast.

One person reviewing this film said this film could be summed up best using a couple lines from it's script in which the new couple meet for the first time in an art gallery. female lead: "So, you like this one?"... Male: "Yeah, it makes me happy... but I'm going to buy the UFO."

Whether or not you like the film will depend on your own interpretation and the overall theme or category this film should be in is unidentifiable. The fact that a script like this can still find funding, get made and find an audience (no matter how small) is very encouraging.



Disappointed But Not Devastated..
Review date: 2007-04-27 Rating: 6 out of 10

Every so often a film is released that slips under your radar ('how did I miss that?' you ask yourself).Slowly though, a buzz of interest develops around the film and when you finally get to see it it's like stumbling across a treasure that is all the better for being an unexpected discovery. I fully expected this film to fall into this category, I can't remember the last time I sat down to a film with such a sense of anticipation, but I'm afraid it didn't fulfil those expectations.

The problem stems, in part, from hype. Hype takes different forms; we'd all recognise the saturation media blitz that accompanies the would-be Hollywood Blockbuster these days. Then you get the more gentle form that is associated with a film like this. Of course there is the Oscar nomination for Amy Adams which raises the profile of the film, but it is the reviews and recommendations by, no doubt, well intentioned journalists that films like this depend on to get the public's attention. Comments like "film of the year" and "a rare gem" and also the inclusion in several films of the year lists. All I can say is if this is a candidate for 'film of the year' it shows how bad things are.

It isn't that it's terrible, its just that there is nothing much here to get your teeth into. It would make a good TV play/movie. There is no plot to speak of(not essential, I know), so it is entirely dependant on the characters and their interactions to spark the interest but nothing happens. There are a few hints at hidden depths and 'past events that still have repercussions to this day' but that's all they are. Ultimately you feel that these 'hidden truths' are so dull (sibling jealousy/life isn't always nice) that they aren't worth delving into anyway.

As an snapshot of middle-America it is OK (but no more than, say, Borat and certainly not as interesting as a good documentary) and it has a good sense of 'place' but that is not enough. To those who argue it is good because 'it's like real life' I say, so are countless other tales("To Kill a Mockingbird" comes to mind)that can be 'real' and provide interest throughout.

The worst moment in the film was about 10 seconds before the end when I thought 'it can't end here, can it?' and it did.

My suggestion: DO watch it, as it is well acted and filmed, but wait for a TV showing

Mixed Feelings
Review date: 2007-02-20 Rating: 6 out of 10

It's difficult to truly describe Junebug! On the one hand, it has some interesting moments comparing very different lifestyles and not judging either one. The imagery and inherent southern culture clashes in a mostly passive aggressive way, with only the two brothers allowing any true resentment struggle to the surface. The two sides clash politely whilst having no idea what to do with each other.

On the other hand, whilst this can draw one in for a while, when the credits began to roll, I was still waiting for something to happen. Apart from a somewhat dubious (medically speaking) tragedy to highlight the difference in priorities, there was little meat on the bones here, and I was left feeling somewhat empty.

I did like it, in places, but I also felt that there were things brewing which never really came to fruition. A shame really given the promising characters who could have had a lot more to do.

Pretentious Dull Dull Dull film
Review date: 2007-01-10 Rating: 2 out of 10

Please please don't rent this film.... we did, and now we're sorry... If you don't end up wanting to kill all of the characters (excluding the nice chatty pregnant lady) when the credits roll, then you're a strong person indeed. I'm a fan of quirky, I'll go a long way in pursuit of quirkiness- but there has to be some point, surely, other than watching people talk to each other, aimlessly, pointlessly, irritatingly... some theme... something. You keep hoping that it's going to be 'American Beauty', but it's actually more like watching Amaerican paint dry.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Benjamin McKenzie
Celia Weston
Amy Adams
Embeth Davidtz
Alessandro Nivola

Creators:
Amy Adams (Primary Contributor)
Embeth Davidtz (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
Manufacturer: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
EAN: 5060000402193
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-08-21
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2006
Language: English (Original Language)

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