Review of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2008) by Marcey I — 17 Aug 2009

So this has been on my to see list since pre-production, and I am sure there are those of you which would know why, and if you don't well, bad luck. It felt like it took forever for this to even get a trailer and then released. But finally it came out and to some pretty mixed reviews, which after seeing it I can understand.

So this story is an adaptation of a novel written by Michael Chabon, which I have not read. It is set during a summer in the 80's, Art (Jon Foster) who has clear daddy issues (his father is a known gangster type played by Nick Nolte) and he wants to distance himself from that and get a job. He works at a book store, he starts having it off with his boss (Mena Suvari). One day he meets Jane (Sienna Miller) and her boyfriend Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard) and they have adventures together. Well that is the best way I can put it, you have the three central characters, all very different but they suddenly start hanging out together.

Art has a bit of a messed up life, and he's a confused guy, and obviously this is supposed to show him finding himself. But for me I didn't really feel it, and his attraction to Jane I found confusing. Maybe it is because I found her character rather boring and bland, and Sienna Miller just seemed to add to that (How come her accent was much better here then in G.I. Joe?), I felt Jane could have been more exciting and someone wroth lusting over but it just didn't happen. The real spitfire was Cleveland played so well by Peter Sarsgaard who was the definite stand out. There was definitely more chemistry between Cleveland and Art then there was between Art and Jane or Art and Cleveland. The love triangle which builds between them certainly complicates matters and it seems like the characters were too clueless to sort their stuff out. The film starts off rather solidly, and it builds towards a good middle but it falls flat with the third act, it almost felt as if they had no idea how they wanted to end it. It was some what muddled at times, and it almost lost me.

I have a feeling the source material would have been so much better and I do feel like actually tracking it down. This film isn't terrible or anything, it isn't bad, but it certainly could have been much better, it had a lot of potential. If only it had a much stronger third act, it would have elevated it for me. This is certainly worth checking out if you are a fan of Peter Sarsgaard.