Review of Prince Avalanche (2013) by Kenneth L — 04 Jan 2014

This is a tiny little movie in which almost nothing really happens, but I think it's brilliant. It's like a Terrence Malick film, but earthier and less pretentious. It was made by David Gordon Green, who's previously done indie dramas and big-budget comedies like The Pineapple Express.

This is a return to serious, low-budget material, except that he uses two big-name actors, Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. The story is very simple - Rudd and Hirsch play two guys who are out repairing and repainting a highway in rural Texas after it was destroyed by a wildfire.

They work, rest, hang out, drink, and talk about Madison, who is the girlfriend of Rudd's character and the sister of Hirsch's. There isn't really a central plot to speak of, and the film doesn't really pretend to bring the characters to any life-changing revelations about themselves.

Instead, it simply stands back and lets us experience this odd, quiet part of their lives with them. After watching the movie, I kinda wanted to go paint roads in the middle of nowhere, or at least go hang out there like Rudd's character does.

There are a lot of Malick-esque shots of trees and animals and nature, but somehow they feel less grandiose than in Malick's work. They're simply observing and appreciating these things without trying to use them to make some larger statement the way Malick does.

It's not exactly an exciting movie - most people will probably find it boring. But I thought it was lovely, and also happens to feature Rudd's most interesting performance so far. I hope David Gordon Green makes more movies like this than like Your Highness in the future.