It's a challenge for auteur voices to emerge within the studio system, but Shawn Levy is one of the few mainstream directors who actually seems interested in pursuing original ideas. None of Levy’s concepts are particularly groundbreaking, and many of them are very similar to established classics. However, he’s gone through the majority of his career developing projects that aren’t based on previously established franchises or tentpole properties. Free Guy, Night at the Museum, Real Steel, and The Internship didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but Levy deserves credit for not relying on an existing brand.
Levy clearly has a lot of clout in Hollywood, and it's no wonder why; he creates safe, optimistic crowd pleasers that appeal to a wide variety of audiences. In addition to directing and producing films, Levy has directed episodes of Stranger Things and executive produced many Netflix shows, including The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I Am Not Okay With This, and Shadow and Bone among others. His latest Netflix vehicle The Adam Project is another genre film heavily inspired by ‘80s science fiction cinema, and it's likely that Levy will continue to pursue higher budget projects given the recent developments on Free Guy 2.
However, a filmmaker like Levy who has the ability to green light nearly anything could also stand to benefit from scaling things back a bit. In 2014, Levy directed the studio dramedy This Is Where I Leave You, a heartwarming ensemble film about four grown siblings that reunite in their hometown after their father unexpectedly dies. While it tells a familiar story, This Is Where I Leave You is the exact type of mid-budget star vehicle that increasingly feels like a commodity. The current theatrical market only seems to benefit major blockbusters and niche independent films, and mid budget projects are often sent directly to streaming services without the possibility of a theatrical window. If This Is Where I Leave You came out today, it's the type of film that would be buried within a streaming library.
Even though it's not even a decade old, This Is Where I Leave You’s rollout and moderate success feels like it's from another era. Even though it was hardly an awards contender, the film debuted at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival before hitting wide theatrical release in the “dumping ground” of September between the end of summer blockbuster season and the beginning of the awards race. While it's a film that has largely been forgotten about, it hopefully won’t be an outlier within Levy’s filmography. This Is Where I Leave You isn’t just significant because of its release rollout: it's also a pretty good movie!
Based on the novel of the same name by author Jonathan Tropper (who also wrote the screenplay), This Is Where I Leave You takes place in the suburbs of New York. The businessman Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) is going through a midlife crisis after he discovers that his wife Quinn (Abigail Spencer) has been secretly having an affair with his obnoxious boss, Wade (Dax Shepard). Judd receives a call from his sister Wendy (Tina Fey), who has not reached out to him in many years, and learns that their father Mort has passed away unexpectedly. Neither Judd or Wendy was particularly close with their father, and their interactions with the rest of their family are simply formalities. Attending their father’s funeral is just another obligation that they must fulfill as the older siblings.
Even within these simple expository scenes, there’s a dexterity to Levy’s direction that doesn’t lean too heavily into either drama or comedy. The opening sequence in which Judd witnesses his wife’s infidelity is played remarkably straight, but the film doesn’t stay depressing for very long. Judd and Wendys’ return to their hometown is rife with awkward, brittle humor, particularly as they reunite with their eccentric mother Hilary (Jane Fonda). Their painfully dull older brother Paul (Corey Stoll) only increases this tension, but the film gets its first burst of zaniness thanks to their youngest brother Phillip (Adam Driver).
It's fascinating to watch Driver as the wacky, scene-stealing comic relief in this earlier performance within his career; this was right before he became the actor that Martin Scorsese called the best of his generation. Phillip shows up in a sports car blaring his radio during his father’s funeral, and he has fun teasing his siblings by reminding them of embarrassing childhood moments. Levy uses Phillip to address the unspoken question that Judd, Wendy, and Paul are all asking: why should they be mourning a man they had no connection with?
Driver does a great job at developing Phillip from a caricature into a character, and he’s not the only actor who is able to step outside their comfort zone. This was only a few years before Bateman proved he could be a great dramatic actor with Ozark, and it's one of the rare performances in Fey’s career where she’s not relying on her inherent comic abilities. Levy gives the entire cast room to shine, highlighting the underrated talents of co-stars like Shepard, Stoll, Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Timothy Olymphant, and Ben Schwartz. He even gives Fonda her best role in years.
In the same way that Levy might compare The Adam Project or Free Guy to ‘80s classics like Back to the Future or Starman, you could draw a line between This Is Where I Leave You and ‘80s ensemble films like The Big Chill or Working Girl. While Levy is clearly passionate about developing new franchises, he’s successful enough to be afforded a “one for me, one for them.” If Levy can direct some Free Guy fans to take a chance on a more personal project like This Is Where I Leave You, then he could make a real difference in the industry.
"like this" - Google News
March 23, 2022 at 12:45AM
https://ift.tt/OvtI9Qm
Why Shawn Levy Should Make Small Films Like This Is Where I Leave You - Collider
"like this" - Google News
https://ift.tt/qeIDpum
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment