Review of Junebug (2005) by Richardb. — 05 Sep 2005

I have to say I expected more from this movie, more than another About Schmidt, Broken Flowers, Ingmar Bergman-lite mood piece about how human beings can't ever seem to connect. Not that I think emotional connections are easy, I just never understood how most of the characters in Junebug had ever been, or could ever be, connected, and I never got the feeling the filmmakers cared enough about any of them to really develop the connections.

Sure, the sweet pregnant lady who won't shut up is appealing, but when did she find time to get so close to her brother-in-law that she relies on him in her darkest hour? He hasnt been home in 3 years, he didnt invite his family to his wedding, and when he finally does gets home, he mostly (except for a meal-eating montage) avoids everyone.

His family is unbelievably inhospitable to his new wife, and barely talks to each other. In fact, (except for pregnant lady, gallery gal and crazyass artist guy) no one in this movie talks enough to reveal who they are or why they're behaving as they do.

Yeah, I know, there really are lots of families who really dont talk to each other, but my problem with this particular movie family's failure to communicate is that its neither dramatic or artistically useful.

There are hints of good story-telling in the father-to-be's poignant attempt to share the tv meerkats with his wife, or the older brothers's hymn-singing moment, but mostly we get way too many long silences and overly lingering images.

"Profound", like some existentialist's idea of a Hallmark card. See a bleak and barren vista, read the caption, "Not thinking of you." Call it "Sentimental Cynicism", and its a lazy kind of story-telling.

In the bizarro world of the sentimentally cynical, there are still predictabley melodramatic plot twists, but a crisis doesnt bring out the best in anyone. People dont rise to the occasion, they just slink away.

The critical consensus on Junebug seems to be that its something new, an insider's guide to the new South, tinged with an Altmanesque satire on how ironic Northeners behave badly when confronted unexpectedly with unfamiliar concepts like true religion and close family ties.

I was just disappointed by its lack of imagination.