Review of Cyrus (2010) by Sally D — 05 Mar 2011

Quirky, off-beat, well acted, but it's clear why this film never really found a theatrical audience. John C. Reilly is John, a lonely divorced man whose ex-wife forces him to go to a party and actually meet people. He meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) and the two click instantly. He meets her son Cyrus (Jonah Hill) and the two do not click at all. Cyrus as an unhealthy attachment to his mother and its never quite clear until the end if he's sincere in his dysfunction or if he's being manipulative, an altogether deeper layer of dysfunction. Or if it's both.

To call this a comedy (as the trailer falsely implies) is a stretch, but it's hardly dramatic either. The message is clear: unhealthy attachments can, in a weird way, be enriching (John has a strange attachment to his ex, too). The film does, however, succeed at making the viewer as uncomfortable and weirded out as John is throughout the entire film.

Rent this with no expectations and you might find yourself surprised by how much you enjoy it. But like the relationships in it, conventional is not a word to describe this film.