Review of Igby Goes Down (2002) by Simon C — 01 Jan 2008

"I feel this great, great pressure - coming down on me. It's just constantly coming down on me. Crushing me.".

Burr Steers' (co-writer of `How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days') film 'Igby Goes Down' is a black comedy set in New York around an 'almost 18 year old' boy named Jason 'Igby' Slocumb Jnr. (Kieran Culkin).

Igby is a deeply troubled boy; constantly barraged and insulted by his overpowering, overbearing, drug-filled, cancer-suffering mother, Mimi (Susan Sarandon) who has already driven his father Jason (Bill Pullman) schizophrenic after a nervous breakdown. Igby's brother Oliver (Ryan Phillipe) is a neatly groomed scholar who always manages to somehow taint any little successes that Igby derives - causing Igby to suffer further.

Getting to know Igby doesn't take long. He is a drug taking, smart-mouthing and yet surprisingly innocent adolescent - displaying the only behaviour that seems to help him survive his surroundings and neurotic family. His god-father D.H. (Jeff Goldblum), a wealthy professional developer, takes Igby under his wing in a half-hearted attempt to groom him into something which Igby will never become.

Along the way, Igby meets Rachel (Amanda Peet) who gives him a temporary room to stay and Sookie (Claire Danes) who provides him with a bit of temporary sanity through her care and advice.

Culkin's performance exceeded any expectations I had; but with the exception of Jeff Goldblum, the actors in this film seem to have been stereotypically cast, which, surprisingly, is very effective in this instance. The audience, who has no doubt seen the cast before in other films, is given a small amount of stability in an otherwise unstable film.

This film will not be everyone's cup of tea; it is raw in many ways and is certainly not a happy film - but it is a wonderfully told story with rich characters played almost flawlessly by a string of great actors.