Lars and the Real Girl

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 6/22/08 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Nancy Oliver, Lars & the Real Girl is the story of a shy man named Lars who is comes out of his introverted personality when he falls for a life-sized doll named Bianca. While his brother and sister-in-law worry about this strange behavior, they play along with him as Lars finds himself attracted to a co-worker as Lars is played by Ryan Gosling. Also starring Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, and Patricia Clarkson. Lars & the Real Girl is a sweet, charming, and quirky comedy-drama from Craig Gillespie.

Living in the garage near his late parents' home, Lars is a young man who keeps to himself. Shy and often very secretive, he rarely has contact with people as he goes to work and on Sundays, go to church. Yet, his sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) is concerned as she often invites him to dinner at his parents' home where Lars' older brother Gus (Paul Schneider) lives. Lars has caught the attention of a new co-worker named Margo (Kelli Garner) who often asks him if they would like to hang out but Lars politely refuses. Then one day, a co-worker shows Lars some sex dolls that he's looking at where Lars suddenly gets an idea. Six weeks later, a big package arrives for Lars as he walks up to Gus' home and asks if he can come for dinner with his new friend. Karin and Gus are excited until they see that Lars' new friend is a sex doll named Bianca.

Gus is convinced that his brother has lost his mind as Karin is trying to figure out how to deal with it. They all go to meet the town's doctor Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) who suggests to Gus and Karin to play along with what Lars is doing and treat Bianca as if she's real. Karin gives in but Gus is extremely reluctant. Yet with Lars starting to become more communicative, Karin begins to treat Bianca like a real person with Gus still trying to deal with Lars' state of mind. With the town also reluctant to play along, they immediately take a liking to Bianca while Dagmar tries to explore Lars' psyche. Lars takes Bianca to a party as she meets Margo who also takes a liking to Bianca. With Gus now playing along, everyone takes a shine where things seem to go well though Gus and Karin still question whether it will help Lars' state of mind.

When Margo starts to date a co-worker, Lars begins to notice her as his relationship with Bianca starts to crumble due to her activity for the town. Lars gets a little upset as Karin reminds him that Bianca has his own life. When Margo asks Lars if he would like to go out somewhere, he does as he starts to notice her more. Yet, confused over his feelings for both Margo and Bianca, Lars suddenly finds himself in what he's really dealing with.

Thematically, the film is in some ways is about death. Yet, writer Nancy Oliver and director Craig Gillespie chose to cover up that theme a bit by exploring the unique character that is Lars. Essentially the film is a character study about a young man, still haunted over the death of his parents trying desperately not to connect with anyone until he decides to enter the real world through a sex doll. Nancy Oliver's script is filled with wondrous characters who seem to care for Lars while also presenting this unique world of small town Middle America where everyone seems to know everyone and interact with each other as a community. Yet, Oliver's script explores the fragile mind of Lars and how an object like Bianca can make him interact with people while breathing life into a character like Bianca.

Director Craig Gillespie does superb work in the film by creating funny moments in the film with such subtlety in the film's first act when Karin and Gus are introduced to Bianca. The way Gillespie presents their reaction is done with a lot of humor where the actors had to do so little. The second act is also wonderfully told as Gillespie explores the world of small town Middle America with Ontario as the location. For the third act, it does become a bit dramatic but Gillespie's direction and the actors wisely underplay it as Gillespie's restrained, subtle tone works for the film as an entirety. With the way Gillespie presents the scenes and compositions while letting other characters get an idea of what they think. The result is truly a marvelous film thanks to Craig Gillespie's heartfelt direction.

Cinematographer Adam Kimmel does an amazing job with the film's photography where Kimmel captures the wintery look of small town America with dabbles of color as the interior shots are wonderfully lit to capture an intimacy and tone for each scene. Kimmel's work is truly superb as his look is authentic and beautiful as it's one of the film's technical highlights. Editor Tatiana S. Riegel is excellent for its transitional cutting, use of fade-outs and its methodical yet smooth pacing as it carries the film with such ease through Gillespie's sensitive tone.

Production designer Arvinder Grewal and art director Joshu de Cartier do a fine job in the look of the homes of Karin and Gus as well as the place that Lars works and other locations. Costume designers Gerri Gillian and Kirston Leigh Mann do a wonderful job with the film's wintery look from the sweaters and shirts that Lars wear to the colorful clothing that the women including Bianca wears.

Sound editors Barney Carbal and Perry Robertson do a nice job in capturing the atmosphere of the film's interior scenes and outdoor exterior scenes to show the world of the small town that Lars lives in. Music composer David Torn create a wonderfully melodic, bouncy soundtrack for the film's quirky yet heartfelt vibe that features melodic chimes and uplifting string arrangements while the film's third act is more somber as Torn's music wonderfully under plays the film. The soundtrack consists of artists that are mostly unknown with the exception of the Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club.

The casting by Richard Hicks and David Rubin is wonderful for its small but memorable performances from R.D. Reid as the local reverend, Nancy Beatty as Mrs. Gruner, Karen Robinson as Lars' co-worker Cindy, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos as another of Lars' co-worker Kurt who introduces him to the dolls, and Billy Parrott as Margo's boyfriend Erik. Patricia Clarkson is brilliant in her role as Dagmar, a doctor who tries to go into Lars psyche while sharing her own feelings of loneliness as she tries to help Lars cope through establishing a relationship with Bianca.

Kelli Garner is excellent in her role as the sweet, quirky Margo who has a crush on Lars while befriending Bianca as she becomes one of the few people who help Lars interact with the world. Paul Schneider is great as Lars' older brother Gus who is concerned for Lars' mental health while admitting to the guilt that it could be his fault as he tries to cope with his mistakes. Emily Mortimer is superb in her role as Karin, Lars' sister-in-law whose maternal concerns for Lars comes to the test when she deals with Bianca to help Lars overcome his introverted personality.

Then there's Ryan Gosling in an amazing and tender performance as Lars. Gosling's restrained, soft-spoken performance is definitely a testament to his talents where he can delve into a character whether it's someone extroverted or troubled. In the role of Lars, Gosling's subtlety and melancholic approach to the characters makes Lars as unique and likeable despite his own mental state. Yet, it's a great follow-up performance to the one Gosling gave in his Oscar-nominated performance in Half Nelson. The film's most surprising performance goes to the sex-doll named Bianca. The half-Danish, half-Brazilian doll with brunette hair is definitely a character full of life and wonder as she brings out the best in the actors she acts with.

The Region 1 DVD from MGM and 20th Century Fox presents the film in its 1:85:1 widescreen aspect ratio with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound in English and Dolby Surround Sound in Spanish. Featuring English and Spanish subtitles, the DVD includes three special features. First is a brief, deleted scene where Lars in a bathtub with Bianca where the director, through text, reveals that the scene reveals Lars' struggle over his feelings for both Bianca and Margo. The 10-minute featurette entitled The Real Story of Lars & the Real Girl explores the film and its story featuring interviews with the cast and crew as Patricia Clarkson took the part because Ryan Gosling was going to be in whom she had admired. Gosling talks about his rehearsal approach where he actually spent time with the Bianca doll to understand his character.

The six-minute featurette A Real Leading Lady explores Bianca who is given more make-up than most of the cast as they talk about her while Gosling talks about a Walter Salles film she did only to get into an argument about their interview. It's a funny, sweet featurette that goes behind the character who steals the show including a couple of quotes from Richard Burton and Federico Fellini. Along with the film's theatrical trailer, the DVD also includes trailers for films like Music Within, Bonneville, Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral, Tamara Jenkins' The Savages, and the hit film from Jason Reitman, Juno.

Lars & the Real Girl is a sensitive, touching, and light-hearted film from Craig Gillespie featuring a superb performance from Ryan Gosling. Fans of Gosling will no doubt consider this film as essential featuring great supporting work from Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson, and of course, Bianca. While the idea of a man falling in love with a love-doll might seem crazy, the film's light-hearted tone and themes makes this film into a gem worth watching. In the end, Lars & the Real Girl is a remarkable film from Craig Gillespie.

Craig Gillespie Films: (Mr. Woodcock) - (Fright Night (2011 film)) - (Million Dollar Arm) - (The Finest Hours) - I, Tonya - Cruella

© thevoid99 2014

Thumbsucker

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/20/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Being young and in a dysfunctional family is hard, even when trying to grow up is hard. In the book called Thumbsucker by novelist Walter Kirn tells the story of a young boy who has troubles trying to grow up and still sucks his thumb. After getting into various treatments and getting into all kinds of things, the boy's emotional troubles only worsen in this coming-of-age tale. Adapted to a script and directed by acclaimed music video director Mike Mills (not the bass player of R.E.M. of the same name), Thumbsucker goes into the world of teen angst and all the troubles of trying to fit in and everything while dealing with all the problems growing up has. Starring Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Benjamin Bratt, Vince Vaughn, and Keanu Reeves. Thumbsucker is a funny yet poignant film about all the troubles of growing up.

For Justin Cobb (Lou Taylor Pucci), his life is always trouble since he can't seem to stop sucking his thumb. His thumb-sucking annoys his father Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio) while his mother Audrey (Tilda Swinton) is also concerned. Yet, none of them can escape their dull life in suburbia with the youngest son in the clan, Joel (Chase Offerle). Justin though, remains tormented by his life in high school and often has trouble trying to get things in his debate team class taught by Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn). The only person Justin can talk to from the team is Rebecca (Kelli Garner) who often asks Justin on why he acts weird. At home, Mike runs a sporting goods store while Audrey is a nurse who hopes to win a contest to meet her favorite TV actor Matt Schramm (Benjamin Bratt). The only other person Justin can talk to is his new-age orthodontist Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves) who is aware that Justin still sucks his thumb.

Often trying to find time to suck his thumb, Perry notices that if Justin was ever going to get on with his life, he has to let go of his thumb. In an attempt to try to help Justin, he does hypnosis in order to make his stop his thumb and think of other things. The hypnosis seems to work whenever Justin sucks his thumb and it tastes bad but the end result only makes Justin's behavior more erratic to the point that Rebecca notices and leaves the debate team. After trying to get revenge on Perry during a bike race, Justin gets arrested where Mr. Geary and a counselor notices that Justin suffers from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) as they hope to cure him with Ritalin. Justin's parents aren't sure if it will work but when Justin does take Ritalin, he immediately becomes a debate team wizard.

Though the feeling of confidence comes, Justin's behavior becomes even stranger as he begins to take more Ritalin and his aggressive debating skills only troubles Mr. Geary. Even when Justin and his teammates (whom all 3 are girls) try to have fun, Geary isn't fond of the change in Justin. After a big victory, Justin's aggressive behavior takes its toll on the family as once his Ritalin addiction is exposed and when his father decides to show up to see him debate. The result is a disaster as Mike tries to comfort him only to be rejected while Audrey, who had been seeing his debate matches, had taken a job working in a rehab center that is filled with celebrities. After quitting the debate team, Justin turns to Rebecca for help in smoking dope and discovering sex but when that doesn't work out. Justin has troubles finding answers while he suspects his mother of having an affair with Matt Schramm, who is at the rehab place while finding out about his father's pain in his life after being a football star. Justin wonders about everything while finding out all the answers from the most unlikely of places and people.

The theme of this film along with a lot of films that came out in 2005 is connection, especially through troubling circumstances. In the case for Thumbsucker, it's about a young kid who has troubles in trying to get himself fixed to become a better person yet couldn't deal with all of the bad things around him. His family is very dysfunctional where his mother wants to live a fantasy and his father trying to achieve a final goal that he didn't get as a high school football star where it leaves his younger, frustrated brother to be the normal one. It's a film where people try to find answers into better themselves only to realize that they're not always there and that some people only set themselves up for disappointments in the way Geary and Perry would see. Even in Justin's relationship with Rebecca, it's very complicated since Rebecca is trying to discover the world of sex only to confuse Justin even more in what her intentions her.

The film is wonderfully directed by Mike Mills in how he observes all the things that goes around in Justin's world. From his visits with Perry about all the things that troubles his life to how he becomes desperate to be accepted only to have it fall apart in his face. Mills direction is excellent in the way he observes Justin's behavior while the script is filled with wonderful development where all the major characters in the film have depth into what they bring into the world, especially Justin. While the film is mostly a drama, it does have its moments of humor in several scenes where it comes off naturally and not in a farcical way that some films try to do. Then there's the subject of thumb-sucking which is really a metaphor in the way that the Ritalin and dope-smoking would get to. It really represents an emotional crutch of a kid where whenever he's is pushed or just feeling very anxious in a bad way.

A film similar to that context on a different scale is Steven Shainberg's 2002 film Secretary where Maggie Gyllenhaal's character cuts herself only to see if she exists only to find a new alternative as a submissive in a sadomasochistic relationship with her boss. Really in many ways, this film is about trying to find things to hold on to while dealing with all the bad things in the world.

Helping Mills in the visual department is cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay is wonderful for its use of color and to convey the dreamy yet ominous mood that Justin goes through as Baca-Asay's cinematography is wonderful. Production designer Judy Becker and art director Walter Cahall do great work in the look of the houses and places that Justin is surrounded by. Especially since Becker's work is filled with odd things in the homes like in Perry's office early in the film, wolves and stuff that brings a lot of humor to the look of the film. Costume designer April Napier also brings a quirkiness to the film, especially in a scene where Tilda Swinton wears these quirky designer dresses to try and look impressive for Benjamin Bratt. The film in its 96-minute running time is paced leisurely while editors Angus Wall and Haines Hall bring great style to the film's presentation to Mills' perspective directing and some jump-cuts to convey the erratic behavior of Justin.

The film's soundtrack which is supervised by Brian Reitzell is filled with dreamy, atmospheric stuff that helps the convey the troubling mood of the protagonist while the film's original music is done by Tim DeLaughter and his band, the Polyphonic Spree. The music of the Polyphonic Spree is wonderful with its lyrics that are uplifting and melancholic that provides the crutch of Justin's emotional struggle as DeLaughter and company do great work. Also added in the soundtrack is some music from the late Elliott Smith who brings in some great covers of Cat Stevens' Trouble and innocent Big Star ballad Thirteen that rings true to the characters who are all growing up.

The film's cast is wonderful which includes some nice small performances from Sarah Bing, Echo Brooks, and Olivia D. Brown as Justin's debate teammates and a wonderful minor performance from Chase Offerle as Justin's young, obnoxious 10-year old brother who becomes frustrated over his brother's weirdness and the family dynamics as he struggles to get some attention. In another hilarious small role, Benjamin Bratt is excellent as Audrey's favorite actor Matt Schramm whose presence as this bland, pretty-boy actor is a wonderful parody only to have more complexity in a meeting between him and Justin where Bratt reveals his humorous side. Vince Vaughn is also funny as Mr. Geary whose tactics to help rile up his students ability to win are fun to watch while Vaughn also shows his more mature side when he sees Justin go into darker behaviors. Kelli Garner, who filled in for Scarlett Johansson at the last minute, does a wonderful job in playing Justin's girlfriend who is looking to understand his behavior only to reveal her true intentions. Garner brings a lot of edge and a natural quality to her role where if the part still went for Johansson, nothing new would've come but Garner brings the right tone for her character who later becomes a stoner.

Of the entire supporting cast, no one brings more surprises or laughs better than Keanu Reeves in his most offbeat performance to date as new-age orthodontist Perry Lyman. Reeves brings the right kind of humor and idiosyncracies to play this new-age guy who tries to help Justin only to change completely as does Justin where he tries to find new answers as his character is a bit parallel to Justin. During their meeting when Justin is now a debate wizard, Reeves brings a hilarious blandness and shock to see Justin's new change where Reeves brings some real depth. Vincent D'Onofrio is also wonderful as Justin's father Mike who hides a deep sense of shame as he tries to hide himself through work and when he finally takes notice of Justin's accomplishments, he tries to be a real father. D'Onofrio brings all kinds of complexity and pain that a father goes through as he and Pucci have great scenes together. Tilda Swinton is also great as Justin's quirky, fantasy-living mother who seems to be the only parent early who wants to connect with Justin. Then when she takes a great job, her character changes as she becomes unaware of her own role as she tries all she can to help Justin and her family.

Finally, we have Lou Taylor Pucci in a performance that can truly described as one of the best performances of the year. With his previous film credit in a small but memorable role in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity, Pucci is by far one of the best young actors to emerge as he takes his first starring role as a kid who has trouble dealing with the world and looking for something to hold on to. Pucci brings a complex, layered performance in the film as he struggles to find himself as early on, we see Pucci bring every amount of sympathy to this kid only to not like him as much when he goes on Ritalin. It's a very powerful performance as Lou Taylor Pucci who is a true talent on the big screen.

The Sony Classics Region 1 DVD that presents the film in a 2.35:1 anamorphic wide-screen format is wonderful in its transfer, even as it sounds good in its 5.1 Dolby Digital for English and Dolby Surround for French with French subtitles available. The special features include several trailers for films like Junebug, 2046, Breakfast on Pluto,, London, Saint Ralph, The Tenants, and Memory of a Killer which are all released from Sony Classics. The other features include a 20-minute behind the scenes documentary where writer/director Mike Mills, novelist Walter Kirn, and most of the film's cast talk about the movie and the idea of thumbsucking. Kelli Garner reveals the preparation she took into learning about the things discussed in the debate team while Pucci talks about a lot of the angst that goes on through. Tilda Swinton, who is one of the executive producers, reveal how the story affected her since she admits to her own awkwardness as young woman. Another feature that appears in a DVD-rom is a director's blog from Mike Mills that reveals notes on the film's premiere and promotion along with his artwork that he reveals.

The 40-minute conversation between Mills and novelist Walter Kirn is interesting for those wanting to know the comparison between the book and film yet the 40-minute running time does take too long. Mike Mills' feature-length audio commentary on the film brings some wonderful insight into his approach and how he and the cast basically improvised while remaining true to the novel and some of its lines. Mills fonds over Pucci's performance and the rest of the cast while talking about how he did the film in an almost chronological order which is rarely done in most film productions. Mills also talks about how the story he felt related to him and the influence of Hal Ashby that was his true inspiration for the film. Mills also talked about how originally, the late Elliott Smith was going to score the entire film with nothing but covers but never happened when he died. Mills also gives a final comment about his meeting with Ang Lee who gives him some poignant advice as Mills calls Lee's 1997 film The Ice Storm one of his favorites.

Overall, Thumbsucker is an amazing, funny, and dramatic debut feature from Mike Mills led by the amazing Lou Taylor Pucci in his first leading performance. With a great supporting cast and a wonderful crew plus music from the Polyphonic Spree and the late Elliott Smith. Thumbsucker is the kind of movie that kids who don't fit in will seem to love and cherish. Even those who hated the typical high school films would've wished that this film was made when they were in high school. Thanks to Mike Mills' talent in directing and Lou Taylor Pucci's performance, Thumbsucker is surely a film to seek out.

Mike Mills Films: (The Paperboys) - Beginners - 20th Century Women

© thevoid99 2012

Taking Woodstock

Based on the memoir Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte, Taking Woodstock tells the story of how the famous 1969 music festival in Bethel, New York came to life with the help of a young man who brought the festival to his town. Directed by Ang Lee with an adapted script by longtime collaborator James Schamus, the film is an exploration on Tiber’s young life as he tries to save his parents’ motel by getting more than half a million people to attend the festival. Starring Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Liev Schreiber, Jonathan Groff, and Eugene Levy with appearances from Paul Dano, Dan Fogler, Kelli Garner, Mamie Gummer, and Emile Hirsch. Taking Woodstock is a good though underwhelming film from Ang Lee.

Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) is an aspiring interior designer/artist who returns home to the El Monaco Motel in his town of Bethel, New York as it’s in danger of foreclosure. With his parents Jake (Henry Goodman) and Sonia (Imelda Staunton) short on cash, Elliot decides to help them as he hopes to organize another small music festival to raise money. With the realization that he needs to raise the money by the end of the summer, he seeks help from a local drama troupe to help them as he hears the news about a concert festival that is looking for a location. Elliot, who is also the local chamber of commerce, offers a permit to the concert organizers where he meets Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) who brings his team to scout the location. Finally finding the place on the farm of Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy), Yasgur makes them a deal to hold the concert on his land.

With Elliot having some money that could help his family, he faces some trouble with the locals and health inspectors looking over the hotel as a transvestite named Velma (Liev Schreiber) offers to help as security. With Elliot realizing that more than a 100,000 people will show up and a press conference where he gets high becomes a disaster. He gets into really big trouble with the organizers as people come in thinking it’s a free concert as a lot more people come in. With his parents working to deal with the people, Elliot meets a carpenter named Paul (Darren Pettie) whom he falls for though he wonders what his dad will think about his homosexuality.

With the Woodstock concert finally happening, Elliot tries to see the show as he encounters a couple of hippies (Paul Dano and Kellie Garner) while hanging out with his old friend Billy (Emile Hirsch), a former Vietnam vet. Elliot also tries to deal with his mother’s strict attitude while his father seems to enjoy having the young hippies around. With all of the things happening around him, Elliot ponders his life and the family he loves while trying to catch a glimpse of the show at Woodstock itself.

The film is about how the famed Woodstock festival in August of 1969 was organized and how it found its location near a motel run by a Jewish couple and their gay son where the woman is a Russian refugee. Yet, it’s an interesting story for some aspects of the film as it’s told from the perspective of a young man who is essentially trying to save the motel his parents had been working hard for. Once that motivation for Elliot to save his motel happens through getting Woodstock to come to his town, the film’s mood starts to change a bit from a comedy to a character study that doesn’t really work very well.

The third act has Elliot trying to go to the concert but the real disappointment isn’t that the film doesn’t get to show the concert as it’s happening. Instead, there’s an acid trip and a mud slide where it kind of meanders a bit. Then there’s the character of Elliot Tiber where as a protagonist, he isn’t very interesting despite his development and character struggle with his homosexuality. While there’s a bit of reference to the Stonewall riots, the homosexuality parts of the film doesn’t really fit in with the narrative. While screenwriter James Schamus does some fine work in creating some interesting supporting characters and the organization of the festival. He didn’t do enough to create a very engaging third act where isn’t sure what to do.

Ang Lee’s direction is very stylish in its presentation as the opening credits scene features a lot of split screens and multiple shots of events happening at the same time. Lee does a lot to create some light-hearted moments that includes some funny scenes of Elliot’s parents fighting some anti-Semitic kids or some mob guys or stuff where people decide to get naked. There is a looseness to the direction that makes it very engaging for most of the film. By the time it comes to the third act, there’s still a few funny moments but it starts to drag a bit once Elliot encounters various people where it includes a very silly acid trip with weird visual effects that looks very silly. While Lee does create some wonderful compositions and intimate camera work throughout the film, he creates a film that is pretty decent but loses its excitement in the third act.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier does some wonderful work with the film‘s colorful cinematography in capturing the gorgeous landscape of upstate New York. Gautier’s photography has a lushness to many of the daytime exteriors while creating a more intimate look for some of the interior scenes in the film along with the nighttime exterior shots. Longtime Lee collaborator Tim Squyres does some fantastic work with the editing by creating a lot of stylized cuts to re-create some of the shots and multiple split-screens that is really an ode to the original Woodstock movie.

Production designer David Gropman, along with set decorator Ellen Christiansen and art director Peter Rogness, does some fine work with the look of the motel that Elliot lives in along with the farm and places that he frequents to. Costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi does some excellent work with the costumes from the straight-laced clothes that Elliot wears to the more lavish clothes many of the hippies wear. Visual effects supervisor Brendan Taylor does some OK work with the visual effects for the acid trip scene where some of the animation is inspired but it doesn‘t fit in with the tone of the film and makes the scene to be very silly. Sound editors Eugene Gearty and Phillip Stockton do some good work with the sound to capture the quietness of the town to the chaos and blaring music once the concert starts to happen.

The film’s score by Danny Elfman is a very folk-driven score to play to the setting that is 1969 with brimming acoustic guitars as it’s mostly set in sparse places. While Elfman’s score is very good, the rest of the music is surrounded by cuts from the music of the time such as Richie Havens, the Band, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Janis Joplin, Arlo Guthrie, Blind Faith, the Doors, the Seeds, Love, Ravi Shankar, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead plus a song from Judy Garland to complement the taste of the gays. The overall soundtrack is a real highlight of the film since it brings a bit of nostalgia as well as a primer for new listeners to the music of the times.

The casting by Avy Kaufman is pretty good for the large ensemble that is created that includes memorable appearances from Skylar Astin as Woodstock organizer John P. Roberts, Richard Thomas as Reverend Don, Darren Pettie as the construction worker Elliot falls for, Adam LeFerve as a local who despises Elliot for bringing hippies to the town, Mamie Gummer as Lang’s assistant Tisch, and Dan Fogler in a tolerable performance as the theater troupe leader. Other notable appearances include Paul Dano and Kelli Garner as a couple of hippies who take Elliot on an acid trip along with Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Billy’s older brother and Emile Hirsch in a comical though overdone performance as the Vietnam Vet Billy.

Eugene Levy is very good in a very laid-back performance as the farmer Max Yasgur who offers his land to the Woodstock organizers while wowing them with his chocolate milk. Liev Schreiber is excellent as the drag-queen Velma who is very tough and cool while being the one person who helps loosen up Elliot’s parents. Jonathan Groff as Michael Lang is one of the film’s most uninspiring moments as he ends up looking very goofy while not really giving the Lang character anything to do except say “hey man” and “groovy” with just a straight face.

Henry Goodman and Imelda Staunton are great as Elliot’s parents as they bring a lot of humor to their characters. Goodman as the more laid-back father who finds an ally in Velma as they fight off anti-Semitic youths as he also sports some subtle humor to his character. Staunton is even funnier as the Russian immigrant mother who often spouts stories of how she walked from Russia to America with cold potatoes while being the more strict as it’s a remarkable role for the British actress. Demetri Martin is OK as Elliot Tiber as he tries to make the character he plays interesting but is unable to do since he‘s practically a comedy actor. The problem is that Martin isn’t very engaging in his performance as he mostly stares at his surroundings while doesn’t really he seems unsure what to do in some of the performance as it’s a pretty uninspiring performance.

Taking Woodstock is a film that has a lot of good moments but loses steam in the third act that includes a very dull lead performance by Demetri Martin and the lack of footage from the famed Woodstock concert. Audiences who are interested in the history of the famed music festival will find this to be insightful over how it got organized though the actual Woodstock movie is a much better introduction about the festival. For its director Ang Lee, the film is pretty much one of his weaker efforts as he creates something that is very loose and lively though is unable to keep things interesting in the third act. In the end, Taking Woodstock is a fine film from Ang Lee despite some underwhelming moments.

Ang Lee Films: Pushing Hands - The Wedding Banquet - Eat Drink Man Woman - Sense & Sensibility (1995 film) - The Ice Storm - Ride with the Devil - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - The Hire: Chosen - Hulk - Brokeback Mountain - Lust, Caution - Life of Pi - Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - The Auteurs #19: Ang Lee

© thevoid99 2011