I’ve always found David Gordon Green to be a surprising director. Who would have predicted the auteur of the acclaimed George Washington (released back in 2001 in limited theatres and given wider life on DVD thanks to the Criterion Collection) would end up collaborating with comedian Danny McBride on a series of films (Your Highness and Pineapple Express) and the TV series Eastbound & Down. These are projects I’ve always found disappointing and though successful on many levels, it’s in the production of Prince Avalanche that Green seems to feel most at home.
Premiering at Sundance earlier this year, and now a part of the Sydney Film Festival, Prince Avalanche is an remake of an Icelandic film called Either Way. The film, which takes place over a two week period in the Texas wilderness (filmed in Bastrop, near Austin), is far from an obvious choice for an American audience, let alone the actors at play, Emile Hirsch and Paul Rudd. Thinking of Into The Wild perhaps lends a precedence for Hirsch, however this is definitely new territory for Rudd, who gives a standout performance as the stubborn Alvin.
This is a simple film that could have been played out on a stage as it could have on the screen. It follows two workers over two weeks as they paint the roads running through fire ravaged areas of Texas. The connection between the two? Lance (Hirsch), is the younger brother of Alvin’s (Rudd) girlfriend back home. And though I wouldn’t go so far as to call them the Odd Couple, they aren’t far removed, either.
Lance plays an archetypical early-to-mid twenties male; more worried about getting laid than anything else, trying to avoid growing up in the process, though admitting he was now “fat and old”. Rudd’s character, meanwhile, is trying to make a serious relationship work, while at odds with himself; seeking solitude over company. This subborn nature, versus Lance’s reasonable dim-witted (but “I’m smarter than you think I am”) appeal, sees the two come to terms with working together, their lives back home and ultimately answers the question: what sort of circumstance would exist where two opposing personalities would be drawn into a friendship… and are we really that different after all? *cue inspirational music*
This is a character driven, explorative comedy/drama, that throws you into the lives of these two men. You’re never taken back home; the wilderness is the film’s sole setting. Interaction with others is limited to a truck driver, played brilliantly by the late Lance LeGault, who seems to offer wisdom in the form of alcoholism in his final role, and delivers some of the film’s most memorable scenes. Then there’s Joyce Payne, who plays a woman who reflects on her house, which was burnt down by the fires. Otherwise, the film is entirely focused on Lance and Alvin, with a slow pace following their mundane work life, which I would imagine stays true to the Icelandic original.
This probably isn’t going to be the film you think it will be, but with brilliant performances from the two leads, including a career standout for Rudd, and some beautiful cinematography of the desolated and damaged Texas landscape, it’s definitely a film worthy of its American adaptation. Green does a sound job of keeping the film on a non-traditional path, returning to directorial origins producing simple stories, executed well, and enjoyed by the patient viewer.
I should point out, too, that it’s not every day we get to see a film like this with such established actors. This is the sort of film you’d expect from a first time director, with a couple of unknowns in the lead. It’s inspiring to see Green make this film, and though its pace is grating at times (though this is far from being Gun Van Sant’s Elephant), it’s an enjoyable piece; and I’d be interested to see if someone doesn’t try and turn it into a stage play. It’s certainly a story worthy of exploration through other mediums.
Review Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE.
Get your tickets to the Sydney Film Festival Screening(s) now!
http://tix.sff.org.au/session2_sff.asp?sn=Prince+Avalanche
Remaining Screening Times
Thu 13 Jun 7:00PM – Event Cinemas George Street
Runtime: 105 minutes
For its first screening at the Sydney Film Festival, Prince Avalanche was accompanied by the short film Whale Valley, a similarly paced production from Denmark and Iceland, which also follows two characters – in this case young brothers – who “reach a turning point in their lives”. It’s ultimately a rather morbid theme but compelling, with emotional performances from both young actors and a guest appearance from a very large whale. The cinematography helps represent the landscape well; simultaneously mundane and beautiful. Ultimately, the film seemed like an odd way to provide a simple message, but it was engaging all the same.
Review Score: THREE STARS OUT OF FIVE.
Unfortunately that was the only screening of the short film at the year’s festival.
