Review of Running with Scissors (2006) by Sugeiny T — 17 Jan 2009

Lets beging by saying that Annette Benning is a goddess! She portrays the role of a depressed/crazy mother in a way that only a few actresses could. I really liked this film because it had a plot that any young person could identify oneself with, even if all the elements are embodied in a way that might be taken as a little bit too over the top.

The cast ensemble is sublime, with the exception of Gabriel Union, whose character's presence in the movie feels forced and unnecesary, plus, as an actress, she doesn't do anything to fix it a little or make it relevant in any way whatsoever.

Joseph Cross is really sweet in his character, Alec Baldwin is amazing in his, Joseph Fiennes showed that he should be on-screen more often, Gwyneth Paltrow plays her character to perfection, I don't think I'd ever seen her do a character like that, with that complexity and goofiness at the same time, and I really loved her for it.

Evan Rachel Wood is one of the best actresses of her generation, but in this movie I don't think she brought what we're used to see from her, sometimes I felt her overracted and not believable, even though, I loved the character she played.

In the end, Jill Clayburgh was my favorite, even when her character was a little crippled. There is no real background to it, so sometimes, whenever she did something surprising (the end, for example, or the scene in the car where she asks Benning to leave) I found myself asking: where did that come from? But then I'd just realize that the elements were there for one to interpret them and in the end she really won me over, becoming my favorite on the whole film.

Running with Scissors is a dark comedy that works because of its dialogue and because of its surreality, and to me it was a delightful trip to watch.