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Friday, April 9, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW
The Greatest
Love Amidst The Grieving Ruins


Aaron Johnson as Bennett and Carey Mulligan as Rose in Shana Feste's "The Greatest".  
Palladin

By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW 
Friday, April 9, 2010

"The Greatest" are the words Bennett Brewer (Aaron Johnson) says while in bed with Rose (Carey Mulligan).  It's bliss for this 20-something couple, who for several weeks have scouted each other during their paths to separate classes on a school campus.  That knowing glance.  That connection.  That tentative and awkward smile. 

"The Greatest" marks the directing debut of Shana Feste, who also wrote the screenplay.  It opened today in San Francisco and several other U.S. cities, and was released last weekend in New York and Los Angeles.

The story is set in suburban New York.  The Brewers are rocked by a death in the family.  One of them doesn't acknowledge the loss.  Another breathlessly and incessantly talks about it.  Yet another has a romance with someone who has major issues of their own.

Ms. Feste's drama contains moments of good acting, notably by Susan Sarandon as Grace and Pierce Brosnan as Allen.  Their chemistry is strong in a film that often drills home its themes to muster sentiment.  (For example, the repetitive flashbacks of better days.)  Despite some flaws in the film, it's worth noting again that Mr. Brosnan continues to have a strong 2010 on film.  In the span of seven weeks on the big screen he has crafted memorable portrayals ("The Ghost Writer", "Remember Me") and keeps that streak going here.

Oddly ceremonial, "The Greatest" presents a subplot to further dramatize the internal struggles of a family, but the additional plot needn't exist.  Had Ms. Feste decided to focus solely on the family and avoid creating drama from somewhat ancillary affairs, "The Greatest" truly could have been great.  ("Morning", a film at this month's upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival, does a better job of focusing on the turmoil in specific characters in the wake of a tragic event.)

"The Greatest" also forges a messy diversion or two to show that additional complexities within certain characters are afoot.  The film however, doesn't carry some of these diversions through to their conclusion.  They are dangled like appetizers on a menu, only to mysteriously disappear from it when inquired about.

Many other films have covered the terrain of grief rocking a family, and have done so in far better ways, including Robert Redford's Oscar-winning film "Ordinary People".  "The Greatest" isn't a bad film but it tries too hard, becoming maudlin in the process.  The material is a step below the film's talented players, who do their best to elevate it.  Ms. Feste has crafted a self-aware film littered with possibility, but unfortunately the sum total of its parts are unremarkable if not instantly forgettable.

With: Johnny Simmons, Miles Robbins, Zoë Kravitz, Cara Seymour, Michael Shannon, Colby Minifie, Lindsay Beamish, John Boyd, Hannah Hodson, Miriam Cruz.


"The Greatest" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association Of America for language, some sexual content and drug use.  There's also a moment of nudity.  The film's running time is one hour and 40 minutes.

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Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar here.

Read Omar's "Far-Flung Correspondent" reports for America's pre-eminent Film Critic Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times - here



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