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Igby Goes Down ***½
Igby Goes Down is a wonderful film that honors JD Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, the anti-hero from the classic book, Catcher in the Rye perfectly.
Kieran Culkin stars as Igby, a 17-year-old rich kid who is sick to death of the phoniness of everybody around him. His father (Bill Pullman) is a schizophrenic who has been in an asylum for the last six years and who also haunts his dreams. Igby sees his father as a heroic figure and proves that a child’s memory can embellish reality and skewer facts. His mother (perfectly played by Susan Sarandon) is a domineering fussbudget who constantly berates Igby for not being as perfect as her other son (Ryan Phillippe) who Igby sees as a fascist pig. Igby is constantly dropping out of schools, smoking pot, and letting everyone know around him that he feels nothing but contempt and hatred for them. When his mother finally gets tired of all his problems, she sends him to military school. Igby, home on vacation, runs away to spend time in New York city, much like Holden did in Catcher in the Rye. That is when he sees life for what it is. Utter crap.
He hides from his family in a studio that is owned by his money hungry and always fashionable Godfather (Jeff Goldblum) who lets his mistress (The always lovely Amanda Peet) live there for sexual favors. Igby is invited to his godfather’s home for the weekend where there is a party for the social elite. There he meets the first girl he will ever fall in love with (Claire Danes) as she is a hostess for the caterer hired for the party.
Meanwhile, his mother finds out that she has breast cancer and it is too late for any hope. Igby’s reply when he finds out is “Good!” Throughout his time in New York, Igby learns about betrayal, pain, and irony, in many inventive and interesting ways. He learns also, that a person can only rely on ones self and trust should not be lightly given.
Igby Goes Down sometimes seems like it is unsure what type of movie it is supposed to be. At times it is a comedy of a type that resembles Airplane, and sometimes it is more of a Greek tragedy. It is full of exceptional performances and witty dialogue that comes at you with a pace not unlike a Nascar race. Culkin proves that he has the ability to act well and though the film is full of A-list stars, it is he who steals the show. I saw in another thread where a member thrashed Phillippe for not doing his role justice. I disagree with that assessment. His character has gone through as much trauma as Igby, but he deals with it differently. He is unfeeling and stoic. I utterly believed him.
Igby Goes Down is directed by Burr Steers who you might recognize as the second guy on the couch during the first shoot-out in Pulp Fiction. This is a stellar first attempt for a new director.
Igby Goes Down is a wonderful film that honors JD Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, the anti-hero from the classic book, Catcher in the Rye perfectly.
Kieran Culkin stars as Igby, a 17-year-old rich kid who is sick to death of the phoniness of everybody around him. His father (Bill Pullman) is a schizophrenic who has been in an asylum for the last six years and who also haunts his dreams. Igby sees his father as a heroic figure and proves that a child’s memory can embellish reality and skewer facts. His mother (perfectly played by Susan Sarandon) is a domineering fussbudget who constantly berates Igby for not being as perfect as her other son (Ryan Phillippe) who Igby sees as a fascist pig. Igby is constantly dropping out of schools, smoking pot, and letting everyone know around him that he feels nothing but contempt and hatred for them. When his mother finally gets tired of all his problems, she sends him to military school. Igby, home on vacation, runs away to spend time in New York city, much like Holden did in Catcher in the Rye. That is when he sees life for what it is. Utter crap.
He hides from his family in a studio that is owned by his money hungry and always fashionable Godfather (Jeff Goldblum) who lets his mistress (The always lovely Amanda Peet) live there for sexual favors. Igby is invited to his godfather’s home for the weekend where there is a party for the social elite. There he meets the first girl he will ever fall in love with (Claire Danes) as she is a hostess for the caterer hired for the party.
Meanwhile, his mother finds out that she has breast cancer and it is too late for any hope. Igby’s reply when he finds out is “Good!” Throughout his time in New York, Igby learns about betrayal, pain, and irony, in many inventive and interesting ways. He learns also, that a person can only rely on ones self and trust should not be lightly given.
Igby Goes Down sometimes seems like it is unsure what type of movie it is supposed to be. At times it is a comedy of a type that resembles Airplane, and sometimes it is more of a Greek tragedy. It is full of exceptional performances and witty dialogue that comes at you with a pace not unlike a Nascar race. Culkin proves that he has the ability to act well and though the film is full of A-list stars, it is he who steals the show. I saw in another thread where a member thrashed Phillippe for not doing his role justice. I disagree with that assessment. His character has gone through as much trauma as Igby, but he deals with it differently. He is unfeeling and stoic. I utterly believed him.
Igby Goes Down is directed by Burr Steers who you might recognize as the second guy on the couch during the first shoot-out in Pulp Fiction. This is a stellar first attempt for a new director.