The challenge facing not only United Artists' marketing mavens but reviewers is how to characterize the sly comic pull of writer-director Burr Steers' "Igby Goes Down".
Mention of disaffected youth and upper-class angst is off-putting. So you try twists on past movies, such as "Arthur" with a social conscience or "The Graduate" during the '90s economic bubble or "Five Easy Pieces" adrift among East Coast Wasps. One can make an even stronger comparison of "Igby" to Holden Caulfield in "The Catcher in the Rye", the ultimate confused, disillusioned teen in American fiction. But none of this does full justice to an original work filled with bracing wit and sharp observations about character, class and social milieu.
You can only hope that festival exposure and strong promotion in urban adult markets by UA will help this film find its audience. "Igby" may divide people. At a recent press screening, there were two walkouts and applause at the end, both rarities.
There is no controversy over Kieran Culkin's turn as Igby Slocumb. He marvelously holds the screen with a performance that suggests both brash cynicism and extreme vulnerability. Alienated from his family and class, Igby discovers the only form of rebellion open to a 17-year-old rich kid comes in a resolute determination to fail -- in his studies, social deportment and relationships with family members. His shrink even hits him. Twice.
Igby has been kicked out of so many prep schools on the East Coast that his anal, distant, pill-popping mother, Mimi (Susan Sarandon in a scathing portrait of a lady of leisure), stashes him in a military academy. Almost immediately, Igby runs away with her credit card and hides out in New York.
He takes up residence in an artist loft owned by his godfather, D.H. (Jeff Goldblum) -- a ruthlessly focused self-made man -- which is used by D.H.'s dancer mistress (Amanda Peet). Igby then tumbles into a Manhattan demimonde that includes the dancer's friend (Jared Harris), a performance-artist who deals drugs, and the sexually vivacious Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), an older, jaded Bennington student who launches an affair with Igby because she thinks he's "funny."
But what does Igby want? "I'm preparing to leave", he announces. Certainly nothing in his present life maintains a grip on him. His dad (Bill Pullman) resides in a mental hospital. His brother Oliver Ryan Phillippe) is a self-absorbed, Fascist-prone Columbia student with little between him and his younger brother. Igby calls his mother Mimi because "Heinous One is a bit cumbersome."
Steers says he began "Igby" as a novel. This shows in the film's rich detail and texture. While every character is caught in a scathing light, no one comes off as two-dimensional. All are vibrant personalities, their discontent and dysfunction seen as a consequence of class, personal idiosyncrasies and too much time on their hands. Steers puts everybody in his place but never puts anyone down. The tone is always comic, even when circumstances are tragic.
Occasional flashbacks (with Culkin's brother Rory playing 10-year-old Igby) fill in more details of his peculiar childhood. At times, though, things may be a little too peculiar: Characters have one edge too many. Emotional illnesses tend toward theatricality.
Sookie's brief involvement with Oliver feels forced and unlikely, given Sookie's disdain for such people. Finally, some events abruptly happen, suggesting cutting-room decisions.
Wedigo von Schulzendorff's elegant cinematography and Kevin Thompson's nuanced design make for an Upper West Side that is slightly idealized and somewhat surreal. Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen's music is well spotted and unintrusive yet supports and often amusingly comments on the action.
IGBY GOES DOWN
United Artists
UA and Atlantic Streamline present in association with Crossroads Films a Marco Weber/Lisa Tornell production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Burr Steers
Producers: Marco Weber, Lisa Tornell
Executive producers: Fran Lucci, David Rubin, Lee Solomon, Helen Beadleston
Director of photography: Wedigo von Schulzendorff
Production designer: Kevin Thompson
Music: Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen
Costume designer: Sarah Edwards
Editor: William Anderson
Cast:
Igby Slocumb: Kieran Culkin
Sookie Sapperstein: Claire Danes
DH: Jeff Goldblum
Russell: Jared Harris
Rachel: Amanda Peet
Oliver: Ryan Phillippe
Jason: Bill Pullman
Mimi: Susan Sarandon
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 96 minutes...
Mention of disaffected youth and upper-class angst is off-putting. So you try twists on past movies, such as "Arthur" with a social conscience or "The Graduate" during the '90s economic bubble or "Five Easy Pieces" adrift among East Coast Wasps. One can make an even stronger comparison of "Igby" to Holden Caulfield in "The Catcher in the Rye", the ultimate confused, disillusioned teen in American fiction. But none of this does full justice to an original work filled with bracing wit and sharp observations about character, class and social milieu.
You can only hope that festival exposure and strong promotion in urban adult markets by UA will help this film find its audience. "Igby" may divide people. At a recent press screening, there were two walkouts and applause at the end, both rarities.
There is no controversy over Kieran Culkin's turn as Igby Slocumb. He marvelously holds the screen with a performance that suggests both brash cynicism and extreme vulnerability. Alienated from his family and class, Igby discovers the only form of rebellion open to a 17-year-old rich kid comes in a resolute determination to fail -- in his studies, social deportment and relationships with family members. His shrink even hits him. Twice.
Igby has been kicked out of so many prep schools on the East Coast that his anal, distant, pill-popping mother, Mimi (Susan Sarandon in a scathing portrait of a lady of leisure), stashes him in a military academy. Almost immediately, Igby runs away with her credit card and hides out in New York.
He takes up residence in an artist loft owned by his godfather, D.H. (Jeff Goldblum) -- a ruthlessly focused self-made man -- which is used by D.H.'s dancer mistress (Amanda Peet). Igby then tumbles into a Manhattan demimonde that includes the dancer's friend (Jared Harris), a performance-artist who deals drugs, and the sexually vivacious Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), an older, jaded Bennington student who launches an affair with Igby because she thinks he's "funny."
But what does Igby want? "I'm preparing to leave", he announces. Certainly nothing in his present life maintains a grip on him. His dad (Bill Pullman) resides in a mental hospital. His brother Oliver Ryan Phillippe) is a self-absorbed, Fascist-prone Columbia student with little between him and his younger brother. Igby calls his mother Mimi because "Heinous One is a bit cumbersome."
Steers says he began "Igby" as a novel. This shows in the film's rich detail and texture. While every character is caught in a scathing light, no one comes off as two-dimensional. All are vibrant personalities, their discontent and dysfunction seen as a consequence of class, personal idiosyncrasies and too much time on their hands. Steers puts everybody in his place but never puts anyone down. The tone is always comic, even when circumstances are tragic.
Occasional flashbacks (with Culkin's brother Rory playing 10-year-old Igby) fill in more details of his peculiar childhood. At times, though, things may be a little too peculiar: Characters have one edge too many. Emotional illnesses tend toward theatricality.
Sookie's brief involvement with Oliver feels forced and unlikely, given Sookie's disdain for such people. Finally, some events abruptly happen, suggesting cutting-room decisions.
Wedigo von Schulzendorff's elegant cinematography and Kevin Thompson's nuanced design make for an Upper West Side that is slightly idealized and somewhat surreal. Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen's music is well spotted and unintrusive yet supports and often amusingly comments on the action.
IGBY GOES DOWN
United Artists
UA and Atlantic Streamline present in association with Crossroads Films a Marco Weber/Lisa Tornell production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Burr Steers
Producers: Marco Weber, Lisa Tornell
Executive producers: Fran Lucci, David Rubin, Lee Solomon, Helen Beadleston
Director of photography: Wedigo von Schulzendorff
Production designer: Kevin Thompson
Music: Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen
Costume designer: Sarah Edwards
Editor: William Anderson
Cast:
Igby Slocumb: Kieran Culkin
Sookie Sapperstein: Claire Danes
DH: Jeff Goldblum
Russell: Jared Harris
Rachel: Amanda Peet
Oliver: Ryan Phillippe
Jason: Bill Pullman
Mimi: Susan Sarandon
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 96 minutes...
- 8/30/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.