Review of Being Flynn (2012) by Ben F — 07 Apr 2012

Looking like a bag of sodden groceries, trench-coated Jonathan Flynn (Robert De Niro) walks into a homeless shelter early in "Being Flynn." But he doesn't have an air of resignation--he actually seems excited. "Now I can see how the other half lives!" he exclaims cheerfully.

If wanting to see how the other half lives is a good enough reason for you to see I movie, then I might be able to recommend this one. For 102 minutes, the movie details the miserable life of Jonathan and his addict son Nick (Paul Dano). But if you expect the movie to offer any sensation that would make you feel anything besides revulsion and pity for these men, you will be sorely disappointed.

This is unfortunate, because the movie's director, Paul Weitz, is an artist of now small consequence. He wrote and director the dramatic comedy "In Good Company" and the underrated satire "American Dreamz" (his brother Chris has his own underrated delight to his name, the "Twilight" movie "New Moon"). From corporate stooges to budding pop stars, Mr. Weitz has always had a knack for making you fall in love with unlikely characters.

Yet for some reason, he can't do the same for Nick and Jonathan. Although their real-life experiences (as described in Nick's memoir) inspired the movie, the film feels anything but realistic. There's a dull, dutiful quality to the piece, which is multiplied by the unwelcome dual voiceover from both main characters.

Consider--in an early scene, Jonathan lays down on an outdoor heating vent while Nick's voiceover informs us gravely that once Jonathan lies down, he won't be able to get up. Once you've felt the heat, it's impossible (and dangerous) to expose yourself to the cold so suddenly.

Why on Earth would Mr. Weitz think that such a detail would be best explained through dialogue? It would have been so much more effective to show it visually, to show Jonathan attempt to leave the vent, then being forced back by the pain of the chill. Such a detail would allow us to experience the pain (rather than simply learning about it in terms of bland facts) and perhaps experiencing Jonathan's suffering would allow us to sympathize and see him as something more than an idiotic, annoyingly chatty and hopeless lunk.

Lest you think I'm being harsh, this is not an isolated incident. As I mentioned, Nick is a drug addict, but Mr. Weitz doesn't bother to show us how the drug's alter his perception and he never fully explains how Nick recovers. He seems determined to reduce the movie to a blandly factual history of a father and son on parallel paths of destruction.

Of course, every lost movie hero needs a sexy guardian angel and Nick gets a Olivia Thirlby, whose the brightest spot in the movie. The character is just as useless as her descendants, who have appeared in movies like "The Fighter" and "Good Will Hunting"--she's there to guide the hero toward salvation and provide a bit of nobly restrained sexual spark. God forbid she should posses a personality of her own. But Ms. Thirlby is exciting to watch--her character, Denise (a homeless shelter worker) is bitter and controlled, with great hair. She's the only bit of visual beauty in the movie.

I wouldn't fault "Being Flynn" for being submerged in pain and ugliness. But considering that it works only as a chronicle of how the other half suffers, I think it's better suited to a classroom than an arthouse. And as much as I love the arthouse, I don't mean that as an insult. The drunken hopelessness of this movie is worth being considered someplace besides a top ten list.

****:).