A trip to the South brings culture shock in “Junebug,” a low-budget film that steps nimbly from family drama to poker-faced comedy.
| Observational: A sophisticated couple from Chicago return to the husband’s North Carolina home, and the culture shock brings some poker-faced comedy. A quietly observational film by Phil Morrison, with standout performances by Amy Adams and Ben McKenzie.
Rated: R rating is for language, nudity, subject matter. Now showing: tk |
Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) and her new husband George (Alessandro Nivola) travel from Chicago to North Carolina. She’s an art dealer trying to sign up a rough-hewn folk artist from western Carolina; as it happens, the trip takes them near George’s family home.
He hasn’t been back in three years, but he’s still the golden boy of the family. His mother and father (Celia Weston, Scott Wilson) are not so sure about the new wife, however, who has a British accent and uses the “F” word.
Also not thrilled is George’s younger brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie), a discontented slugabout who still lives at home. His wife Ashley (Amy Adams) is very pregnant, a situation Johnny isn’t happy about.
Ashley becomes the center of the movie. She’s so excited and impressed by the glamorous Madeleine that she gloms onto her and won’t let go.
This movie has an interesting, slightly uncertain dynamic going. It presents situations – a church-hall meeting, for instance – without caricaturing the people involved, yet a bit of subtle comedy comes through.
Both screenwriter Angus MacLachlan and director Phil Morrison are North Carolina natives, and they can see both the good and the stifling in their home. But mostly they refrain from comment, allowing the characters to come to life.
Morrison’s quiet style has been compared to indie director Jim Jarmusch, although it’s also a bit like Errol Morris, the documentarian who points his camera at peculiar subcultures without blinking.
The weak spot in the picture is George, who remains a puzzling nonentity throughout. I kept wondering what he was thinking – it’s his home, after all – but the character seems to vanish.
The standout performances are given by Amy Adams (Leo DiCaprio’s fiance in “Catch Me if You Can”) and Ben McKenzie (from TV’s “The O.C.”), who are deep in their characters. The fine-boned beauty and sophistication of Embeth Davidtz works well in contrast to their world. If there’s such a thing as “regional film,” this movie makes a good case for the South.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
