(Credit: www.DVDTown.com)
Director:
Phil Morrison
Cast:
Alessandro Nivola……….George
Amy Adams……….Ashley
Embeth Davidtz……….Madeleine
Scott Wilson……….Eugene
Ben McKenzie……….Johnny
Frank Hoyt Taylor……….David Wark
Celia Weston……….Peg
Sony Pictures Classics presents Junebug. Written by Angus MacLachlan. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated R (for sexual content and language).
The movie:
Whoever said, “You can never go home again,” definitely left on a sour note. For some it’s never easy coming home. Too many bad memories, perhaps. Or maybe it’s you perceiving the old neighborhood as slow and out-of-touch compared to your own fast-paced lifestyle. Whatever the case may be it usually has something do with family.
Phil Morrison’s Junebug is the story of a man who visits his family after being away from them for several years. When George (Alessandro Nivola) left his little burg in North Carolina he changed his attitude a bit so he could easily assimilate into the big city life of Chicago. George is a lover of art so he visits a gallery. There he sees Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), an art dealer, and instantly forgets about the art for sale. The two have an instant connection. They break away from the proceedings and make love. They would later marry and contemplate the idea of a family.
In her line of work Madeline is always on the look-out for the next great artist. So, when she hears word about a new, avant-garde folk painter from North Carolina, she suggests to her husband that they go to woo the presumed brilliant artist. The trip also affords George the opportunity to return home and for Madeline to meet her in-laws for the very first time.
The neighborhood is the same as it ever was. The grass is green. The southern hospitality is welcoming.
George’s family is a little strange, but probably no different from our own. His mother Peg (Celia Weston) is incredulous about her son’s choice in a wife. Yet, she makes this assessment without having met her new daughter-in-law. Eugene (Scott Wilson), George’s father, keeps to himself mostly and is always retreating to the basement to tinker with something. Ben McKenzie (from TV’s “The O.C.”) is George’s younger brother Johnny and he still lives at home with his parents.
What starts as a simple movie of a man coming home, becomes this composition about love, family and the choices people make. This film is not like The Family Stone – where the husband takes his bride-to-be to meet his family at Christmas – or a number of movies where a person meets his in-laws for the very first time. Phil Morrison’s film strays from the ordinary. The difference: the multi-layered characters and the words on the page.
Shot on a shoestring budget, the opening credits are simplistic: titles in a bold color of red. The names change every few seconds, and sometimes they appear on a blank surface. Other times, the names overlap the ongoing action on screen. It’s hard to say if this was the filmmaker’s intention, but it adds another layer of intrigue while discussing the movie.
The reason you watch Junebug is because of the acting. Embeth Davidtz (who some may remember from Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness) is a woman who is not hesitant about meeting her in-laws. Madeline is warm and kind-hearted, but her determination to get the folk painter, paints her in a corner as a person whose ambition may outweigh love and friendship.
Acting in his first movie, Ben McKenzie’s Johnny character is surly and unkempt. He lives at home and he works in a packaging warehouse. When he isn’t at work he sits at the kitchen table looking at lingerie ads while smoking a cigarette – if he can find any. Usually wearing a Carolina Panthers ball cap or a dingy Charlotte Hornets T-shirt, Johnny is a tough love kid who has some unresolved issues with brother George. Even when George was living at home the two rarely spoke. And the silence the two had also affected Johnny’s life when George went away. Johnny still acted discourteous to his parents and his pregnant wife. The only time we see this ne’er do well happy is when he’s interacting with his co-workers in the warehouse.
Johnny’s wife, Ashley (Amy Adams), is a revelation. Her characterization of a pregnant woman typifies how some perceive the people of the South. Despite her accent, she isn’t stupid. She may not be the smartest, but her good intentions atone for her capacity to read and write at a high level. Ashley loves meeting new people. So, when Madeline arrives, she is captivated, wanting to know everything about her. When Madeline reveals that she was born in Japan, the only reply Ashley can give is, “you were not!”
There is a delight in watching Junebug that some may be unable to find. It’s a film that requires patience. The screenplay by Angus MacLachlan took twenty years to write, but it is clear that his hard work made for an interesting human dramedy. The characters seem like they were ripped from everyday existence; the story is an introspective look about the choices we make in life. As a director, Phil Morrison lingers on a particular shot just long enough so that his actors can live in the scenes. That way we can see this family as ordinary people no different from you or me.
Score: 8.5/10
The DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
(Presented in 1.78:1 Anamorphic widescreen)
A new trend it seems is for studios to release movies on DVD not in their original aspect ratio (OAR). On the back of the package, it says the movie has a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1. This is strange because OAR’s nowadays are usually 1.85:1 or 2:35.1. The intention is to present a film that won’t have black bars when shown on widescreen televisions. So, some of the picture may be cropped or altered. This makes naïve consumers happy because now there won’t be any black bars. I, myself, want the film in its original aspect ratio. The OAR issue is not too much of a problem on Junebug, as there isn’t much lost, if any, in the picture. Unless it is the director’s consent that the film’s aspect ratio be altered for home release, studios should not bow down to the average Joes.
Score: 8/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
(English 5.0 Dolby Digital)
As a dialogue-driven film, the soundtrack is substantial enough to handle Ben McKenzie’s outbursts at his stupid VHS player, or for George to sing a hymn at a church function – much to the surprise of his wife, Madeline. There isn’t much natural sound or a musical score to speak of, so most of what you hear comes from the center speakers.
Score: 8/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary from two cast members, casting sessions, and more!!!
For a movie that only made four million on the art house circuit, Sony Pictures went the extra step at providing a nice set of extras for the DVD release.
We begin with a commentary with two of the stars of Junebug: Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz. The two speak candidly about the production and their love for all the cast and crew involved. There are moments where they don’t speak as they are watching the film, but for most part they are interesting to listen to. The women don’t speak much about camera shots or how to light a scene; but one interesting fact from Amy Adams’ mouth was that for the shots of her working out by doing pelvic thrusts at the side of the bed, was pieced together by computer editing. It’s hardly a noticeable edit, but when Adams admits she was indeed pregnant during the shoot it’s easy to understand why the director chose to shoot and edit the scene that way.
The ten deleted scenes that are included are mostly scene extensions or slight alterations made during takes. One deletion involves a baby shower where a friend of Ashley tells her about a dream she had. The dream involved the rap group OutKast showing up to her father’s church. The last scene “I just need to pour it,” runs six-and-half minutes and is essentially the director taking multiple shots of that scene. We get the master shot as well as shots that the director and editor can overlap with during post-production.
Following the deleted scenes are five behind-the-scenes featurettes. Produced by The Grossmyth Company, the short features examine some of the different characters in Junebug (Johnny, Ashley, and Peg) and some other “places and faces”. Each featurette is between two-and-half and five minutes long, so there isn’t much to be explained. What is though, is enough. For “Singing a hymn” actor Alessandro Nivola talks about how he totally misread the part in the script where he has to give a hymn at a church social event. The featurette has footage of him practicing the hymn five days before the scene is supposed to be shot. While practicing with his voice coach, Martha Bassett, he questions how many beats he should take to space his words. Nivola admits that the singing as seen in the film is really him and was done in one take. (Probably because there wasn’t money in the budget to record it in a studio.)
If you have ever wondered what it takes for an actor to get a role in a movie, you must watch Casting Sessions. Here you have the opportunity to watch two different scenes with Amy Adams and Ben McKenzie. It looks as if the scenes were shot in an apartment or hotel room. Watching Adams perform the “morning scene” you just know there is a star in the making.
The rest of the extras on the disc are trailers for numerous Sony Pictures releases and a photo gallery. The gallery is of the paintings done by David Wark’s eccentric folk artist character. All of the paintings were in fact the work of a trained painter, Ann Wood, who worked from the script and with Phil Morrison to imagine how Wark might paint.
Score: 8/10
