Review of The Spectacular Now (2013) by Adam P — 07 Feb 2014

An often brilliant film that showcases teenage angst in the most subtle and brilliant ways, The Spectacular Now boasts a phenomenal performance from relative newcomer Miles Teller and a not so great performance from Shailene Woodley. In the past couple of years the cinema has been imbued with coming of age stories. Between movies like The Perks of Being A Wallflower and The Way Way Back the field is at risk of becoming oversaturated. The Spectacular Now easily arrives as the best of this respective subgenre which have hit the screens over the course of the past several years.

This movie is easy to love. Miles Teller is charismatic and his performance is layered and nuanced. It's the kind of star turning performance that jumpstarted Dustin Hoffman's career when he starred in The Graduate. Even if Woodley wasn't that great the film is raw and authentic and truly moving. From the writer of 500 Days of Summer the script is pitch perfect, capturing a lovable and flawed character right at the jumping off point of his life. Told with hilarity and grace, it's a script that has been totally undervalued in critic's circles. The film itself is impeccably shot, on 35 mm no less, using long takes which, in a film industry trending with rapid cut and high concept shots, is a relief because it allows the audience to appreciate what they are seeing on the screen. Nobody uses 35 mm anymore, it's all digital. For comparison's sake compare this film with The Hobbit Trilogy shot using hyper real 48 frames per second shot on digital. James Ponsoldt uses 35 mm, even though it's increasingly expensive to do. Call me a purist but I am totally resistant to this new digital revolution, at least at 48 frames per second. That's just me though. Regardless this film is brilliant and subtle and goes for something more than a cheap and artificial teen film. It's about the real world and real world problems and authentic relationships. A really good film.