By: Clayton DavisI'm afraid that first time director Ryan Murphy has no control of his film, Running with Scissors. Based on the personal memoir of Augusten Burroughs, it tells the outlandish story of young “Augusten” and during his formative years being given up for adoption to his mother’s therapist and all the craziness that followed. The underdevelopment of characters and ill-mannered direction of them is too “cartoonish” and too zany for my taste. The beautiful ensemble is enough to get the viewer into the seat and the comedic elements are excellent but there’s too much gap between premise and resolution to complete an already difficult tale to construct. The performances are what pull us through a rough ride and uncomfortable and annoying anecdote. Joseph Cross plays the young “Augusten” and does so well. Cross who can also be seen in Flags of our Fathers brings forth an admirable young performance. This is a great breakthrough performance by a male actor this year and I’m glad that both Eastwood and Murphy have stumbled upon him because he’ll be one to watch in the coming years. He plays flamboyantly yet controlled and heartbreaking; yet restrained along removing the layers each scene as the story goes to give us a rare and naked individual. I wish this performance was bringing more buzz for him but the film itself holds him back in the prickly nature of it. I foresee a few breakthrough awards for him this awards season.
Brian Cox was the “cartoon” of the film and I’m not sure who to blame that on. His character was like watching Daffy Duck do a Thomas Haden Church from Sideways impersonation. I didn’t like the way “Dr. Finch” flowed with the story; the immaturity undersized the image being brought and then suddenly the viewer is supposed to sympathize with this character out of nowhere which fails on every level. It’s a shame to see Cox’s talent wasted here.
Evan Rachel Wood was a revelation of the picture which smelled a lot like “Tracy” in her previous project, Thirteen but now she’s a year older. The sympathy in the story is flown immediately to her “Natalie Finch” who creates such a potent aura of refuge and concealment you can’t turn away from her. I’m glad she’s stretching out her acting legs and hope she won’t fall into the hole that Scarlett Johansson has fallen into, the “hot girl” who we’re all getting a little sick of. (but don’t get me wrong Johansson and Wood are both insanely hot.)
Joseph Fiennes has created a person I have never seen before and something I’ve never seen on him. He took on a character I couldn’t have imagined him taking on and ran with it. As the psychotic, gay-lover of young Augusten he truly gives more than a few mannerisms. He does the complete opposite of Cross and layers his character as each scene progresses and unleashes it so abruptly in the fury and anger of a character. But I’m afraid all that leaves quite a bad taste in my mouth after it ends. Gwyneth Paltrow and Alec Baldwin are not too much to talk about but their brief, a little humorous and nothing to marvel at.
Jill Clayburgh is the most “human” character of the story and the favorite of the entire team to this critic. As “Agnes Finch” she shows us Oscar’s favorite “suffering wife” believe it or not but quite a lovely take on her. She is a marvel to watch but Murphy and Burroughs bring up too many questions about her and leave them unanswered. Clayburgh enjoys her role but the writing doesn’t allow her to give us or her the necessary equipment to build her properly. She can make it in the supporting actress list with the way that mess of a race is looking.
And…Annette Bening is such a great female thespian and brings such a great presence to the screen. She took her role and ran so far with it that it literally came around the world a few times. I don’t even care about her questions that are left unanswered, she’s just a wonder in her own. Her “Deirdre Burroughs” is so zany and so crazy and Bening does deglamorizes her image into a wonderful surprise. She brought forth the same vulnerability and cattiness that Ellen Burstyn brought in Requiem for a Dream. I enjoyed her thoroughly and her performance will warrant her that nomination that critics are predicting but I’m afraid she will be (in the words of Johnny Alba, our Oscar Igloo editor) destined to lose if she plays out as a lead (which hurts her because she definitely is a lead). It’s such a tough call. The film however is in no way coming out with a Best Picture nomination nor an unlikely screenplay nomination. A possible SAG Ensemble nomination is in hand if people like it enough but it’s tough to come alive to it when the story is so irritating and unbelievable. Running with Scissors is exactly what “running with scissors” is, STUPID!
Grade: **/****
2 comments:
Unfortunately, I totally disagree with you. However, two of my best friends saw the film together. One loved it, the other hated it. So I think it's one of those films that leaves the audience evenly divided. In defense of the film, I thought all the elements were there that make a terrific film. The story, the screenplay, and especially the performances of the actors were, in my opinion, outstanding. I was very surprised that Annette Benning didn't get an Oscar nomination, nor Jill Clayburgh(?). Her performance was amazing. But everybody has different tastes. - A Film Buff in Hawaii (via Hollywood)
I disagree too, but I know the way you feel is what the majority of film-goers and critics thought as well. Maybe it's because i saw alot of my upbringing reflected in the film and through Augusten (to a much lesser degree), maybe i was bias towards it, but i think it was snubbed becasue of it's unconventiality, just like Ryan Murphy's Television projects. Oh and i just love Evan Rachel Wood and Annette Benning, i thought the performances were brilliant and deserved notice even if the film wasn't a success....
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