I Heart Huckabees. An odd little title to go with an odd little film. When deconstructed, there really isn't a great deal you can see at its heart. Plot? There is some, but it's not very clearly defined. Characters? There are some fascinating characters but by the end they have almost merged to form one and the same. Cinematic style and panache? Well, there's plenty of that. But as with all of the above elements, as well as the central theme of existentialism running through this film, it's basically nothing more than a mishmash of differing and, at times, juxtaposed themes, ideas, in short, everything.
Our central player is Albert (Jason Schwartzman) who hires a pair of 'existential detectives' (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) to investigate a strange coincidence he encountered recently whereby he ran into the same African gentleman in three different places. The investigation, and his spiritual/emotional journey in the meantime lead him (and of course, the audience in turn) down many strange turns and many strange pathways, while all the while his everyday life is taking similar turns and takes.
It's the suspension of disparities between everyday life, and how we view that everyday life, that gives this film its major appeal. It's also the principle underlying existentialist philosophy as is my understanding, but we won't go there because we could never stop. Essentially the plot we are given is nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing too deep or complex. But superimposed over that is this attempt to find answers to the meaning of life, or whether there even is a meaning.
For this reason the film works brilliantly as a subtle satire, which is the reading I think I've chosen to give the film. There are countless plot points throughout the film that could be rehashed from basically any old garble to come out of Hollywood, only rewritten as though every character has a conscious or unconscious obsession with seeking out absolute truth in the world. This is, when it comes right down to it, very very funny. And my friend and I found ourselves laughing almost constantly through the film, possibly just at the sheer absurdity of a movie with an ideal such as this even being written. The fact, however, that it seems to be done in such a tongue-in-cheek kind of manner makes it not only extremely entertaining but utterly endearing as well.
On top of this, the satire itself somehow is also used to get across the existential message that the film purports to express. Basically the way in which the characters continually search for meaning and truth while living out uneventful, if not entirely typical lives raises the question about whether or not life actually does have meaning. Or rather, does the film have a meaning, or a purpose, or a message? At times it seems as though it's doing nothing but ridiculing the whole concept, and then there are times when I thought maybe there was a deeper meaning to the whole concept of ridiculing? Well let's get off that tack. The point is it's impossible to say for certain what the meaning, if there even is one, is.
And it's largely through the use of the detectives (who are portrayed brilliantly, incidentally, by both Hoffman and Tomlin) that this underlying message comes about. While a lot of the dialogue takes the form of philosophical debates between the characters, I also found a lot of the time that I'd be for a moment absorbed in the action, and then the camera would pan out to reveal the fact that the detectives had been peering/listening in on the whole conversation, and suddenly I was dragged out of that cosy reality and reminded suddenly that we were in the middle of an existential conundrum.
What am I trying to say with this meaningless drivel? In very simple terms, I loved this film. I loved everything about it. I loved the lightness of plot, the ambiguity of characters, I loved the mishmash of different directing and writing techniques. I just loved the way it used all the elements to create not just a film but a manifestation of one simple premise - what's the meaning of a coincidence? At one point, I wondered how much longer the film would go on for, but not because I was getting bored, rather because I wanted it to last for longer. It's a film like no other, and for that reason I can imagine certain circles hating its guts. But representing myself and my own particular faction, I love it. ****1/2 out of *****
Our central player is Albert (Jason Schwartzman) who hires a pair of 'existential detectives' (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) to investigate a strange coincidence he encountered recently whereby he ran into the same African gentleman in three different places. The investigation, and his spiritual/emotional journey in the meantime lead him (and of course, the audience in turn) down many strange turns and many strange pathways, while all the while his everyday life is taking similar turns and takes.
It's the suspension of disparities between everyday life, and how we view that everyday life, that gives this film its major appeal. It's also the principle underlying existentialist philosophy as is my understanding, but we won't go there because we could never stop. Essentially the plot we are given is nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing too deep or complex. But superimposed over that is this attempt to find answers to the meaning of life, or whether there even is a meaning.
For this reason the film works brilliantly as a subtle satire, which is the reading I think I've chosen to give the film. There are countless plot points throughout the film that could be rehashed from basically any old garble to come out of Hollywood, only rewritten as though every character has a conscious or unconscious obsession with seeking out absolute truth in the world. This is, when it comes right down to it, very very funny. And my friend and I found ourselves laughing almost constantly through the film, possibly just at the sheer absurdity of a movie with an ideal such as this even being written. The fact, however, that it seems to be done in such a tongue-in-cheek kind of manner makes it not only extremely entertaining but utterly endearing as well.
On top of this, the satire itself somehow is also used to get across the existential message that the film purports to express. Basically the way in which the characters continually search for meaning and truth while living out uneventful, if not entirely typical lives raises the question about whether or not life actually does have meaning. Or rather, does the film have a meaning, or a purpose, or a message? At times it seems as though it's doing nothing but ridiculing the whole concept, and then there are times when I thought maybe there was a deeper meaning to the whole concept of ridiculing? Well let's get off that tack. The point is it's impossible to say for certain what the meaning, if there even is one, is.
And it's largely through the use of the detectives (who are portrayed brilliantly, incidentally, by both Hoffman and Tomlin) that this underlying message comes about. While a lot of the dialogue takes the form of philosophical debates between the characters, I also found a lot of the time that I'd be for a moment absorbed in the action, and then the camera would pan out to reveal the fact that the detectives had been peering/listening in on the whole conversation, and suddenly I was dragged out of that cosy reality and reminded suddenly that we were in the middle of an existential conundrum.
What am I trying to say with this meaningless drivel? In very simple terms, I loved this film. I loved everything about it. I loved the lightness of plot, the ambiguity of characters, I loved the mishmash of different directing and writing techniques. I just loved the way it used all the elements to create not just a film but a manifestation of one simple premise - what's the meaning of a coincidence? At one point, I wondered how much longer the film would go on for, but not because I was getting bored, rather because I wanted it to last for longer. It's a film like no other, and for that reason I can imagine certain circles hating its guts. But representing myself and my own particular faction, I love it. ****1/2 out of *****