Review of The Skeleton Twins (2014) by Brian S — 14 Sep 2014

You get a very particular film-going experience when watching a product from the Sundance film circuit. These specific films are usually very melancholy-teeter and tottering from good vibrations to down on my luck grief-where the power of the handheld camera can express the most intimate of moments and a sweet, acoustic soundtrack just grounds the entire thing to earth.

Dialogue is usually witty and heartfelt, the characters probably misunderstood outsiders and the direction encompasses a visceral realness to it all. In a word, these Sundance films can be summed up as "authentic.

" The 2014 Sundance entry, The Skeleton Twins, is heavy on melancholy, uses the power of the handheld camera to express the most intimate of moments and has a sweet, acoustic soundtrack that grounds the entire film to earth.

Irony aside, the formula is dimming the light on the "authenticity" of these films, but they are still a healthy reminder that character-focused stories can take precedent over the normal Hollywood blueprint of Sequels, Remakes and Reboots (oh my!) that pop up every weekend.

Not to say that The Skeleton Twins doesn't have any Hollywood Star Power (because it does) as it features two funny people in Kristen Wig and Bill Hader. Playing against type, the two take a dramatic turn in performing troubled (misunderstood) siblings dealing with very real-life issues, such as depression.

The range and nuance of both performances is impressive, especially Hader as The Skeleton Twins is his first major dramatic role. Craig Johnson's direction gets the best out of Wig and Hader's natural charisma in a few scene-stealing moments, but it is mostly a dramatic showing from the SNL alums.

Sprinkling Luke Wilson (who turns out a very solid and likable supporting performance) throughout the picture was much needed in a film with such heavy subject matter, even if Johnson and co-screenwriter Mark Heyman make him a little too daft in certain scenes.

The story goes beat by beat on a dramatic roller coaster of rekindling the past and how it shapes the future and is executed in an interesting way. There are some inconsistencies and scenes that weren't really needed (like an awkward dinner with mom) but this film is more for the performances than the film technique or plot.

The Skeleton Twins shows that if authenticity is waning, quality will shine though-leaving a very rewarding (angst-filled) Sundance experience.