NYFF Review: Undertow

David Gordon Green's previous features, George Washington and All the Real Girls were both frustrating experiences for Filmbrain. While Green's talent as a filmmaker was evident, his worshipping at the temple of Terrence Malick unfortunately got in the way of other elements, particularly the screenplays. Full of twenty-something angst and cringe-worthy dialog, All the Real Girls could have been a far better film had Green worked with a more mature screenwriter. He's a wonderful director of actors, and his work with cinematographer Tim Orr proves that he has a vision -- it's just that he hadn't yet come into his own as a writer. Naturally then, it was with some trepidation that Filmbrain approached Green's latest film, Undertow. The good news is that for Undertow Green collaborated with another screenwriter, newcomer Joe Conway. The resulting screenplay is, while perhaps a bit formalistic, a vast improvement over Green's previous efforts. Conway, like Green, grew up in the south, and there's a familiarity with the locale and its denizens that allows them to avoid obvious or naive clichés. Also on the roster is Green-idol Terrence Malick, who here takes a producer credit. Purportedly based on real events, Undertow plays out a bit like an updated Night of the Hunter. Jamie Bell (better known as the lead in the ultra-cloying comedy Billy Elliot) plays Chris Munn, a sexually frustrated teenager living on a hog farm with his widowed father John (Dermot Mulroney) and sickly little brother Tim (Devon Alan). Enter John's brother Deel (Josh Lucas), fresh out of prison and with an axe to grind. At first, Chris is enamored with Deel, particularly by the fact that Deel has been out there in the world -- a welcome change from his father, who keeps the two boys in virtual isolation. It's doesn't take long before things go from bad to worse between Deel and John, and the remainder of the film finds the boys on the run from Deel, much as the Harper children were from Robert Mitchum's evil Reverend. Undertow's greatest strength lies with its actors, particularly Jamie Bell, who not only delivers his lines in perfect Southern accent, but is also so utterly convincing as the so-dirty-you-can-smell-him teenage boy on the run. His development from irresponsible teen to father figure for Tim is handled with subtlety, and though the boys are almost continually in danger, the dialog has a wonderfully natural quality to it. Young, frail Tim (often shown vomiting up the various toxic items he mysteriously eats) is stuck at that delicate age between boyhood and adolescence. Not quite ready to face the reality of their situation, he fills in the silence with jokes, observations, and monologues about chiggers (amongst other things). These are some of the strongest scenes in the film, and they are balanced perfectly with the more straightforward action/suspense scenes. Green was clearly interested in infusing the film with a certain 70's look and feel. The liberal use of zooms, for one thing, is a dead giveaway. The opening credits have an almost Dukes of Hazard-feel to them, complete with freeze-frames, wipes, and slo-mo. It comes off as a bit odd, and does not prepare you for the type of film that follows -- is this an attempt by Green to lull us into a false sense of security, or is it simply mood building? Undertow, with its Southern gothic tale, is the most narrative of Green's films, and should appeal to a wider audience than his other two features. He's certainly a filmmaker to keep an eye on -- he's got a great film in him, and it might not be that many years off. Filmbrain is very curious to see how he handles his next project, an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces. Undertow is being released by United Artists at the end of October.

Comments

[paul]

Dunces has been cancelled.
http://www.takethemoneyandrun.org/2004/08/confederacy-of-dunces-bad-news.html

[Aaron H.]

Were you at the Sunday screening? I was there... I asked a question about Terrence Malick during Green's Q&A -- and I think your assessment is pretty spot-on. I liked it, but I still thought it was rather forgettable; my least favorite of his films thus far. Is it just me, or did Mulroney seem strangely amateurish, or at least out of his element?

[FIlmbrain]

That's too bad about Dunces being cancelled. Though I felt Farrell was not the best choice for Ignatious, I was still looking forward to it.

[FIlmbrain]

Aaron -- I saw it at a press screening, but unfortunately could not stay around for the press conference, so I didn't get to see Green.

[phyrephox]

Aaron, did Green have anything interesting to say? I skipped this at the festival because it is opening in a month or so.

p.s. All the Real Girls is great, and its script (or lack of it) is a strength :)

[dvd]

I absolutely loved George Washington, and I think it's one of the very best American independent films in recent memory. However, I saw it before I saw Days Of Heaven (although I'd seen Malick's other films), which surprised me with how many recognizable elements Green obviously lifted. But it's still great, and everything he makes will get me in the theater opening day (or earlier, if possible).

[Aaron H.]

Phyrephox: I didn't really get anything of dire importance from Green's Q&A... most of the people asking questions were filmSNOBS who were asking questions with a condescending element of pointed criticism. As it was a Q&A session and not a Lincoln-Douglas debate, it was mostly embarrassing... but I was surprised at how humble Green was, fully willing to admit his limitations and ripped-off influences. That made me like him even more.

[jammerz]

i'm so glad dunces was cancelled. it would need a much more mature director, and no will farrell, and especially no drew barrymore!!!

phillip seymour hoffman would be much better than farrell.