I don’t know if I can be completely objective about this movie. It was totally adorable and I loved it but there are so many things about it that remind me of trips I’ve taken to Kentucky with my husband that I was bound to love it. Eric felt similarly – I think he was a little more thrown by the familiarity of certain things (the church, the people, the architecture, the relationships). The only thing he didn’t buy was the art that Embeth Davidtz sells – he couldn’t believe anyone would really buy it. But from art classes I know that ridiculous stuff like Civil War scenes of naked soldiers with giant penises would sell like hotcakes. And, though I can never appreciate how good the re-creation of Southern life is to the level that Eric can, I can still remember my trips to Kentucky and see those experiences reflected to a large degree on the screen. I’ve decided to take this recognition as an indication of a job well done. And, on top of all of this accuracy, the movie was really enjoyable (I don’t really go in for painful accuracy). Amy Adams is rad as usual, Embeth Davidtz is terrifyingly thin but perfectly citified, Benjamin McKenzie blew away my low expectations and Alessandro Nivola is just a sex-pot. Celia Weston gives such a subtle performance and Scott Wilson is so hen pecked by her – it makes their relationship so good and complicated. All the relationships were good and complicated. And I think it was a really even-handed version of Southern life. I think it showed that it’s easy for non-Southerners to be snarky and bigoted about the south and people who’re from there but their complicated relationships between the characters, miscommunications and clashes between mores should be much needed common ground between disparate groups of people – Southerners are people too.
February 16, 2009...2:04 am
Review: Junebug
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