Review of Greenberg (2010) by Remote G — 01 Feb 2011

By Nathan Rees for remotegoat on 25/06/10.

Greenberg is the new black comedy from Director Noah Baumbach, the man who still finds it hard to shake off his tag of being a lesser man's Wes Anderson. Noah, famous for his participation in films such as 'The Squid and the Whale' and 'Margot at the Wedding' has chosen to inject some life into Ben Stiller for his new film, Greenberg, in which Stiller portrays a slightly depressed New Yorker, looking for his life to stand still.

Don't be put off by the fact that Stiller is the one in the lead role, because this is a different kettle of fish for both him and the audience. I'm not sure Stiller has made a film like this before, but somehow it works. Baumbach's dreary comedy centres around Stiller's character, Roger Greenberg, but it's not him that made this film enjoyable. Sure he carries the part well, and performs with a hint of authenticity, but it's Greta Gerwig, who plays Roger's Brother's personal assistant Florence Marr that steals the spotlight.

As per usual with a Baumbach feature, the soundtrack is one of the saving graces of the film. Most of the tracks are composed and performed by James Murphy, the co-founder of electronic band LCD Soundsystem, who makes his first foray into film scoring. The film's quirky nature fits in perfectly with the soundtrack.

Storyline wise, it's not the best; you just keep waiting for something to happen, and when it suddenly looks like your prayers have been answered in the last scene of the film, the credits start rolling. It's not exactly 107 minutes of nothing, but the excitement and anticipation; waiting for the next scene just doesn't seem to be there. It's the kind of film you could watch half asleep and still catch the most part. Both Stiller and Gerwig do their best with what has to be classed as either lazy or bland writing, not including Rhys Ifans, whose role is disappointingly cut down to size.

The film of course draws comparisons from Baumbach's previous work, but also from films such as 'About a Boy' starring Hugh Grant. Where the lead role consists of a middle aged man who has forgotten the meaning of his life and aims not to remember by shutting out everyone around him. About a Boy does it far better, but when you're following the work of Nick Hornby, what do you expect?