Review of Imaginary Heroes (2004) by Daniel P — 04 Apr 2008

Well, I watched this not knowing anything about it except that Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Williams were in it, which was enough for me to warrant it a place on my rental queue. If I was to compare it to anything else I've seen, I guess Moonlight Mile and The Squid and the Whale spring to mind, but it's definitely an original in its own right.

A slow pace that drip-feeds info that doesn't seem relevant until later is a risky approach, and for the first half-hour I was seriously considering switching it off and doing something else. It wasn't because it was boring, far from it, but I was guessing where things were heading and the quirkiness of it was pissing me off a bit.

It's not until the New Year scene that things really begin to kick off, the story begins to take shape and character motivations start to become clear. I can't pretend to be unbiased here - a lot of things that happen are spookily resonant from my own experiences - and the climax of the New Year scene onwards I was gripped until the (slightly uneasy) hopeful ending.

Plainly but effectively shot, there a few loose ends here which seem the result of some deleted scenes that could do with being put back in, Imaginary Heroes is above all excellently acted. We've all seen movies with the cool parent figure dealing with grief by having a crisis and turning to pot, but Sigourney Weaver's performance puts a fresh spin on a potentially clichéd character.

Jeff Daniels initially seems like he's going to be a bore but pulls things together, and there's a moment towards the end here where I was sure I knew how the confrontation with Tim (Emile Hirsch) was going to go down and was surprised and moved when the opposite happened.

Sadly, Michelle Williams only has a small role but even so makes an impact whenever she's on screen. Biggest surprise of all is Emile Hirsch, who is simply superb here as Tim - I'm beginning to warm to him as an actor after dismissing him as just another pretty boy.

Shame on me. EDIT: After watching The Mudge Boy and noticing some thematic similarities (although the actual tone, setting and style are completely different), I wouldn't be surprised if Emile Hirsch was cast based on his strength in that picture, and he's equally good here.