wildclementines » Blog Archive

The Real Thing

It’s hard to describe the movies of David Gordon Green. To try and summarize them would only cheapen them. ”George Washington”, “All the Real Girls”, “Undertow”. These are the films of David Gordon Green. He’s 34. He released “George Washington” in 2000; “All the Real Girls” in 2003, and “Undertow” in 2004. Each of these three films possess a very definite capturing of time and place; they are an insightful slice out of a character’s life. They possess a tenderness and beauty only found in movies that were slaved over, loved, and cared for long before the money was in the bank. They are wise and astute, they make observations on young love, childhood mistakes, and vengeful family, they are careful not to stereotype or contempt, and they seize a certain truth that other movies can’t touch. Their dialogue is poetic in its’ simple prose yet profound ideas. Green has a way of putting his signature on each frame of a film, in such a way that if you were to watch a scene you could say, “I know who directed this.” He allows mood to punctuate plot, silent moments to echo true feelings. All these things contribute to making him my favorite writer-director.

His latest movies were the excellent “Snow Angels” (2007), adapted from the Stewart O’Nan novel; and “Pineapple Express (2008). His next film is “Your Highness”, a medieval comedy staring Natalie Portman, James Franco, Danny McBride, and Zooey Deschanel. Green seems to be slowly moving away from the what made his early films brilliant. ”Snow Angels” was noticeably his and I include it in his “canon” but “Pineapple Express”, not written by Green, and “Your Highness”, not written by Green, are definite departures from his earlier work. I just pray that Green goes back to making the small-indie pictures that I love.