After reading a lot of hype, I finally got around to watching the Duplass Brothers' The Puffy Chair. It would be easy to dismiss this movie as, yet another indy DV feature, but it isn't for one simple reason: it doesn't suck.
The movie opens with a scene that establishes cracks in the foundation of a shaky relationship between Josh (Mark Duplass) and Emily (Kathryn Aselton). When Josh's beloved band breaks up he tries to salvage things with Emily by inviting her on a road trip to retrieve a puffy chair bought off of eBay. The problem is, Josh doesn't love her but he's too much of a "guy" to do anything about it...other than coast (one of many signs is his annoying habit of calling her "Dude"). By the journey's end, Josh is forced to man up, but in many ways (as the opening scene foreshadows) his and Emily's fate has already been decided.
TPC's strength is in its simplicity - simply put, it is a road movie about a break-up. The story is presented in a straightforward way, but it does so with surprising honesty and depth. The script is peppered with realistic and funny moments and the actors effortlessly pull off everything asked of them. Anyone with any life experience has been through a messy breakup and the Duplass' do a great job at getting across how difficult it can be to read the writing on the wall.
Nothing about the way TPC was put together is going to give film students hard ons. The camera work is amateur and overall there is no attempt to hide the budgetary restraints. But, unlike so many failed DV features before it, TPC works because the story is as believable as it is ably written, directed and acted.
http://eattheblinds.blogspot.com/
The movie opens with a scene that establishes cracks in the foundation of a shaky relationship between Josh (Mark Duplass) and Emily (Kathryn Aselton). When Josh's beloved band breaks up he tries to salvage things with Emily by inviting her on a road trip to retrieve a puffy chair bought off of eBay. The problem is, Josh doesn't love her but he's too much of a "guy" to do anything about it...other than coast (one of many signs is his annoying habit of calling her "Dude"). By the journey's end, Josh is forced to man up, but in many ways (as the opening scene foreshadows) his and Emily's fate has already been decided.
TPC's strength is in its simplicity - simply put, it is a road movie about a break-up. The story is presented in a straightforward way, but it does so with surprising honesty and depth. The script is peppered with realistic and funny moments and the actors effortlessly pull off everything asked of them. Anyone with any life experience has been through a messy breakup and the Duplass' do a great job at getting across how difficult it can be to read the writing on the wall.
Nothing about the way TPC was put together is going to give film students hard ons. The camera work is amateur and overall there is no attempt to hide the budgetary restraints. But, unlike so many failed DV features before it, TPC works because the story is as believable as it is ably written, directed and acted.
http://eattheblinds.blogspot.com/