Directed by:
David Gordon GreenScreenplay:
David Gordon GreenCinematography:
Tim OrrPlots(1)
An odd couple of sorts Alvin (Paul Rudd) meditative and stern and his girlfriend's brother Lance (Emile Hirsch) dopey and insecure leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the centre of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As the two begin their gradual journey across the landscape, swapping stories and butting heads, what unfolds is a humorous yet moving examination of an unlikely friendship. (Madman Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (3)
From the very beginning, I was surprised by the movie’s emphasis on atmosphere. I also liked Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsh, because they played a couple of completely ordinary guys. One of them was older and more experienced while the other one was younger and full of life and desire to grab life by the horns. You can’t even put those people together in some sort of a workshop, let alone in the middle of the woods where they need to put up signs by some roads that were rebuilt after a fire. The entire time, I tried so hard to pay attention to the atmosphere, but also to the interesting style of camerawork and storytelling, that it sometimes made me forget to pay attention to all else. I liked the music sometimes and then at other times, I didn’t, it depends. At the end, I thought that in a way, it all added to the movie itself which was interesting and original in its ordinariness. That’s managed to lure me in and now I got to go and watch the Icelandic original.
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A very atmospheric and particular film. Instead of the expected funny comedy, what I got was some sort of slow natural therapy. A forest, a beautiful and unusual soundtrack and two likeable characters that go into the woods with problems and leave with friendship.
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Paul Rudd has been trying for a while now to break out of the box of being just a regular comedian into an actor who has something to say. Actually, he's been quite successful at it, and the film Prince Avalanche is personally a turning point for me as well. I see him as a capable actor who can carry an entire film, even one as meditative and tranquil as Prince Avalanche. You have to be in the right mood for this pace; otherwise, you'll completely miss its charm. Luckily, I saw it a just the right time.
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