Away We Go

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Belinda

Another brilliant film by Sam Mendes.

If that's not enough of a must see recommendation for you then I don't know what I can do for you. But I will try.

For some reason this film got almost no publicity, despite Mendes coming off a big oscar push for Reservation Road. Unlike his other films he made this fast and loose with a smaller crew as a break from the big heavy duty oscar films he usually does. And there is something very refreshing about it but more importantly, it's absolutely charming. That might sound slight, but I really mean it in the best possible way. It's just positively heartwarming. I don't believe anyone could not like this film in some way, shape or form.

First I wanna talk about the great script by husband and wife Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. Eggers wrote on Where the Wild Things Are, a divisive film but one I completely fell in love with. The characters in this film are just delightful, it's so refreshing to see a couple that don't have to go through the usual hollywood fights and dramatic arcs of their relationship. Don't get me wrong, there are definite character arcs here but it's never to do with the relationship between them, they are the foundation.

The film is a road trip, a structure that can tend to become very episodic, but they have such a great foundation with these characters and such a well crafted emotional structure that is mirrored by the people the meet along the way. And what a cast of wonderful character (and actors) it is.

There's such warm humor in this film. It's not a loud outrageous comedy (except maybe in one bit) but it certainly always gets big laughs from me. It can be heart breaking and very touching too but never in an overstated manor. Everything its kept real and relatable.

Unfortunately this one seemed to fall through the cracks, even with a cast of some of the most talented actors and a director like Sam Mendes. Sure it's a smaller film from him but has a biggest heart of all them and that was more then enough for me. Seek it out.