perfect match

i saw Away We Go last night. it is a lovely film.

it encapsulates the odd place our generation is finding itself in (now that we are in our late 20's, early 30's and) questioning whether or not we are f*ck-ups. finding our footing with old notions of success and our own new concepts that are still forming.

john krasinski is excellent as a sort of laid-back, relatively clueless, post-stoner (burt). he is unabashedly his own unique breed of man with a delightful smattering of believable depth and tenderness and appropriate rage at times.

maya rudolph is luminous. her character (verona) can hardly contain the millions of emotions and thoughts she seems to be experiencing being six months pregnant; and is beautifully convincing through her emotive expressions and the earnest delivery of her lines.

brilliantly executed, the film follows them as they try to determine how best, if at all feasible, to put down roots. they live in poverty basically (how they afford to travel as much as they did, i'll never know). both characters show they're general ennui, optimism, realism, idealism, sadness, annoyance, and love.

more than anything they reconnect their love throughout the adventure. though they never say "i love you" in the film, and not that their love ever seems to disspate; they just seem to have an invisible set of two cans and a string that connect them when they need it most. it's a beautiful perfect-in-its-imperfections type of chemistry.

the people, friends, and family they encounter are excellent charicatures (played by too many awesome cameos to note) of people we have all known and met (some regrettably so). each place they visit has a thin veneer of possibility, but none seem to fit just right; that is, until they are forced to dig a bit deeper.

the soundtrack was a collection of songs by one of my favourite artists, alexi murdoch; and his nonchalant, soothing voice fit these two sojourners very well (though a few tracks by some other relatively similar artists would have spiced it up a bit) and help guide us with burt and verona as they fumble their way through their quest.

all i'm going to say about the end is this: trampoline, plastic fruit and remarkably welcome poignancy.

i hope you feel the bittersweet love/reality/optimism combination that had me in tears and unable to finish my reese's pieces (a feat that has rarely occurred in my 27 years).

it's a new classic, in my opinion. a love story for our generation that is without pretense. one that possesses a great deal of wry wit and sincerity.

support your local indie theatres and see this movie.

adieu,

lu