Review of Cyrus (2010) by John E — 12 Aug 2011

Cyrus is a film that shows the relationship and eventually dissolution of it at the hands of the emotionally needy son of the mother. While it was supposed to be a comedy, it felt more in the area of a drama because it lacked the typical laugh out loud situations, but still had some parts that were humorous. It took a deeper look into the relationship between mother and son and the complications surrounding it when they are co-dependent on each other for much of the child's life. The acting was good as was to be expected but the script was a little slow and the direction was a little off. It was still a rather quirky film but could have been improved a bit.

The direction by Jay and Mark Duplass (Baghead) was alright but their choice of camera work was skewed. The problem was that it seemed to transition between a mockumentary and larger production camera styles. While this was supposed to have a larger effect on the emotional pull for the audience, it failed to achieve it rendering the technique pointless. While they were still able to get great performances from a stellar cast, they failed to do it in a way the was the most pleasing to the viewer, coming up short of the direction that was needed to makes this a better film.

The scrip, also by Jay and Mark Duplass, was alright but it wasn't great. The initial idea was good but it seemed to drag on and move slow especially without much humor to help it along. While it still represented a good way of bringing humorous things to light, it seemed to just pull random acts out of midair with an overprotective child on the loose trying to screw things us in a nonchalant kind of way. This made it hard to sit still for any viewer because it seemed like there was really not much going on despite the fact it felt like there was going to be a momentous event happening at every turn. This edginess kept the intrigue but the quick ending made it hard for a true appreciation of the film in its entirety.

The acting was the best part and even so it was not enough to be the saving grace. John C. Reilly (The Extra Man) did a very good job in a more dramatic role and seemed to have a grasp on the character as a lonely and written off human being looking to be loved. He really gave his role one of his better performances and has really shown how he has come into his own as a true actor. Marissa Tomei (The Wrestler) shows again just how good of an actress she is by playing a part that came very easy to her. Without her presence on the screen, the others would have stumbled and fallen. She was remarkable and has a considerable talent that should be cherished in roles where she is given a chance to succeed as in this one. Johan Hill (Get Him to way from his mainstream persona and do some acting. Though he did a god job he seemed almost emotionally dead which made his character the funniest of the group. The chemistry among them was edgy but good because it was able to capture the essence of what they wanted the audience to see.

Cyrus, though very rough around the edges still made for a decent independent film and although the comedy was not ordinary, the story base was good. The acting was quite good but the direction and script were lacking the support they needed to make it to a solid film. It had the possibilities and chances to make it but seemed to fall through the cracks with the camera work and overall direction, not to mention the dragging on of the overall film. It is sad to see the work of such talent stalled because of the behind the scenes work, a film that falls short of it potential.