Review of Junebug (2005) by Hugo S — 15 Mar 2008

JUNEBUG (2005).

Directed by Phil Morrison.

Starring Embeth Davidtz, Amy Adams, Alessandro NivolaI didnt like it. I didnt hate it but I didnt like it. Junebug is one of those films, there is a few every year, about a dysfunctional family. They are usually off-beat comedies with a heart and a good sense of family. This one has it all but the plot left me bored all the way through.An art dealer wants to convince an old man to publish his work or something. He lives in the South and it would be a good thing if she met him in person. He happens to live in the same town as her husband's family, so they go. She meets them for the first time. There is the mom, the quiet dad, the careless son and his very talkative pregnant girlfriend. Some of them bond with her, some too fast to my taste, and others dont know what to think of her cause they seem to believe she considers herself better cause of her education. Typical stuff.Of course, the characters are exagerated but they hide some reality behind their life style and way thigns work in the country side. Ive been there and it left me uncomfortable to see the ressemblance. Might be why I didnt like the film that much. Anyways.Amy Adams gives a terrific performance, she is the soul of this film but thats it. That kid from The O.C. who plays her boyfriend is not really good. Embeth Davidtz in the lead is alright but she is just as annoying as the film is. Alessandro Nivola in the other hand shows some charisma and Scott Wilson as the patriarchal figure is good in his quiet scenes.Like all films of this genre, there is a heartbreaking moment, well on paper, cause I didnt really care anymore. Maybe it took the film too long to get there and maybe the aftermath of that event felt too long as well. Im not sure, but I know the film was too long for my taste, when in reality its quite short.Junebug is definately not a bad film, Im sure it can please a lot of people, it simply didnt do it for me.