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Iām a big fan of Good Will Hunting (a perfect comfort movie with a great Elliot Smith soundtrack) but I had no idea that my fellow Boston boys (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) had another Gus Van Sant collaboration under their belt. Also, I know Casey isnāt a great guy, but Iām a sucker for his mopey acting styleā especially in Manchester By The Sea, and in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It seems to come from some kind of deep & familiar Massachusetts sadness. Maybe Iām just projecting though.
That brings us to Gerry, a slept-on hidden gem that bombed in the box office and hardly has any kind of following. The film is based on a real story of two best friends from Boston who got lost in the New Mexico desert in 1999. Donāt look it up since itāll sort of ruin the ending which is one of the best parts. Our friends at Simone Films announced they were doing a screening of Gerry at Roxy Cinema and my curiosity was piqued enough to check it out.
Itās a mesmerizing story thatās mostly devoid of dialog and unfolds over 103 slow and haunting minutes. The few conversations they have provide bits of insight into a friendship thatās mostly a blank slate for the viewer, so what youāre left with are beautifully composed desert shots tinged with a stranded desperation. The movie is heartbreaking, but at moments surprisingly funny, which you might not expect. If youāre like me, the camera-on-a-hood take at the beginning should be a dead giveaway that this is a special film.
Amazing score too.
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This is the movie that put me onto Sean Baker and itās a one of a kind film. Baker has a reputation of creating films that centers societal outcasts and this movie centers on the dispossessed population of frequent hotel renters/people who are at risk of homelessness in Florida. At first, you think the movie will be about Moonee and her relationship with Jancey as they explore the world of Kissimmee unattended with their antics but it becomes very clear that Mooneeās mother (Halley) is the driving force for this particular movie. She is such a resilient and caring mother and the audience knows she has so much stacked against her that we want to see her win, despite her glaring parenting faults. Buyers beware, but a lot of people put too much weight in its controversial ending, and I think thereās so much more to say about Bobby, the hotel manager (acred by Willem Dafoe). I am not the most literate cinephile in the world, and to be real I did not āknow Dafoeās gameā, but the moral crisis he had to endure was so real, that I think that people who work in social āhelpingā professions should seriously examine the boundary between helping and enabling, especially when social systems fail and people are left helpless and desperate. After this movie, I watched more than a few more of Bakerās filmsā Tangerine, Red Rocket, and Iāve been sleeping on Anora but thatās on my list before the end of the year (in like two days). Seriously, I canāt celebrate this movie enough.
Dec 29, 2024
I knew I was going to love this movie just because of the concept and the fact that itās Kieran culkin and Jesse eisenberg but right now itās the morning after I saw it and Iām sitting in bed crying thinking about certain things different characters but especially David, Jesse eisenbergs character said
Iāll tear up at a movie every once in a while but this movie really hit me because it is so relevant to how im feeling recently like literally every element of David and Benjis (Kieran culkin) emotional characteristics and their relationship with each other is relevant
My aunt passed away in September and I have been weirdly impacted by it since then and I have been working on controlling anxiety and depression for four years now with minimal progress and those two things, (Davidās OCD and anxiety/Benjiās grief) are essentially what lead David and Benji to take this trip together so as we learn more and more about their relationship with each other and their personalities themselves it kept getting more and more personal to an almost unbelievable degree
Theres a point where something happens and David sort of opens up and what he says about not actually being okay but just presenting that heās okay because he takes his medication and runs and meditates and goes to work then comes home then does it all again that really really hit me
It is such a perfect blend of funny but also deeply serious and emotional so even if itās not as relevant to you right now I think everyone should see this movie
Nov 15, 2024
I love this movie, the more I watch it the better it gets. I remember thinking I was going to hate it but its my fav!
Dec 29, 2024
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this site is pro sincerity
Dec 15, 2023
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tomorrow PI.FYI launches to the public
this project is the result of thousands of hours spent coding everything from scratch after I got laid off six months ago
no thiel-bucks or weirdo outsider money, just a pure desire to make something fun and true to Perfectly Imperfectās day one goal of helping people find new things from real human beings, not algorithms or AI
a pure labor of love that Iāve been quietly plotting for two years and itās completely self-funded from my (rapidly) dwindling savings account
so thank you for coming along for this weird ride š«¶ let's see where it goes
Jan 21, 2024
Feb 2, 2024