Movie Review: Cyrus

About fifteen minutes into Cyrus, the title character makes an aside, words to this effect: “I’m joking. I have a really weird sense of humor.” This could have been the movie’s tag line. While some people will find Cyrus occasionally hilarious and strangely moving, as I did, others may find the movie uncomfortable or odd. But for those who understand the filmmakers’ weird sense of humor, this comedic character study offers a refreshingly authentic and exceptionally well acted slice of life.

John C. Reilley plays John, a loser who, in his own words, is in a downward spiral since his wife left him seven years ago. His ex (Catherine Keener), tries to coax John out of his slump by inviting him to a party where there will be interesting and attractive women. Everything goes horribly until John gets drunk and makes an improbable connection Molly (Marissa Tomei), who seems out of his league. After a couple dates and a couple of days, John stalks Molly back to her home where he meets Cyrus (Jonah Hill), a 21-year-old (“almost 22″) man-child who lives with his mother, with whom he has an uncomfortably close relationship. The remainder of the story is a battle of wills between John and the dysfunctional Cyrus for Molly’s affection.

In the past, Jay and Mark Duplass produced the ultra-low-budget indie films The Puffy Chair and Baghead, working with digital video and most unknown actors. With Cyrus, the brothers have made a movie that is similar in tone to their earlier work—quirky, tense, funny and naturalistic—but now have the luxury of working with known actors and studio backing. It hasn’t changed their approach, but the end result is much improved. Cyrus benefits from strong, heartfelt performances by the lead and supporting performances, and the actors seem to flourish from the loose, improvisational style.

Despite studio backing and a well known cast, this movie still has a very raw, realistic—and, yes, “indie”—feel to it, mainly due to the Duplass’ shooting style. Cyrus was filmed using lots of hand-held cameras, quick zooms and closely framed shots. Rather than rehearsing the scenes and lighting each shot for the actor to hit his mark, they use an documentary-like approach where the actors are encouraged to wander around the set and improvise and react to the other characters. It’s hard to argue with the results; the acting is impressive. In particular, the scenes with John C. Reilley and Jonah Hill’s characters squaring off against each other were fantastic. Reilley is a veteran character actor, but Hill is a revelation. Prior to seeing Cyrus, I had assumed that Hill is mainly someone capable of playing the obnoxiously funny sidekick (see various Apatow projects). His performance here is fantastic and even understated at times. Marisa Tomei also puts in a strong performance as Cyrus’ amiable, but damaged, mother.

Cyrus‘s strength is that it does not follow the conventions of a typical movie, but simply creates interesting characters, puts them into situations where they will be forced to interact and confront each other, and lets those relationships play themselves out. This is very much a character-driven movie. And because it’s not relying on the usual formulas, it’s both unpredictable and authentic, two qualities that are scarce in most of today’s movies.

Although Cyrus is, on balance, a comedy, it’s not a film preoccupied with being funny or setting up punchlines. Instead, most of the humor is based on seeing slightly odd people in very uncomfortable situations. And although there are two or three laugh-out-loud scenes, if you are expecting more than that, this probably isn’t a movie for you. This is a movie that wanders from humor to pathos to drama without signposts. Put another way, no one is going to mistake this movie for Talladega Nights or Superbad, and anyone who is hoping for that kind of movie will be disappointed. But if you like independent films and good character acting, you might want to check it out.

Cyrus opened in New York and Los Angeles on June 18 and will be opening in wider release throughout July. It’s rated R for strong language and some sexual situations.

At the screening I attended, co-writer/co-director Jay Duplass participated in a short question and answer session after the movie. (My apologies for the poor audio quality.)

Part 1:
http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=11811447-28d

Part 2:
http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=11811449-58c