Sideways (Widescreen)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: B- Film: B-
Alexander Payne is a filmmaker going out of his way to
slyly deconstruct the Madison Avenue myth about living and the human body. That view is about everyone being young,
beautiful, clean and ageless. Time and
time again, his films have shocked the audience with its honest and even
hard-to-look-at images of people who are overweight, have wrinkles, flab, age
marks, odd shapes and even has deconstructed lame assumptions about sexuality
in the process. Sideways (2004)
is the furthest he has gone into the erotic direction yet and the results are
mixed.
The story involves the friendship of two people, oppressed
wine expert Miles (Paul Giamatti and the not-always-wise Jack (Thomas Hayden
Church), who is about to get married and feels he has many “ya-yas” to get out
of his system before the big day. So
begins one of the better road movies of the last few years. Jack keeps trying to get Miles involved with
other women, but he is still having problems from the rebound of his previous
relationship and is not meeting any of these prospects with the greatest
enthusiasm. Jack keeps taking risks a
man his age should not, with Miles having to be his unwilling clean-up guy for
all the disasters than ensue.
It is hard to have sympathy for these characters when they
are responsible for so many of their mistakes, while the idea of portraying
“the losers” of society (however you define that) has appeal to a given
audience. The trick is to portray them
as people without dwelling on or glorifying the apathy that causes the very
failure the characters experience.
Payne manages to avoid that trap, which is why even when we get more
visual and verbal information than we might need to get certain points about
all involved, he keeps the film going.
Even if you are not a wine fan, and the screenplay seems to know its
subject for the most part. This is
about two friends who have enough loyalty to stick together, but may not have
been the biggest help or benefit to each other in the long run. Cheers to Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh for
their supporting performances as the women who see the good in these guys until
they cannot deal with them anymore.
The comedy works for the most part, though some of the
humor depends on the more serious things one can laugh off. These guys are on the dysfunctional side,
aided by their favorite depressant throughout.
Church and Giamatti are impressive in their roles, with a unique
chemistry that may be a bit “canted” in itself. With that said, Sideways may not be for everyone or work
for everyone, but it is a film made for smart adults, which is why it got all
of that well-deserved critical acclaim.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image disappoints
with a slightly hazy look throughout that has more to do with the transfer than
the way cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, A.S.C., likely intended. That even includes the late-1960s/early
1970s pastel look Payne wanted. It is
the only low-point, that this is watchable, but could have been better. The dialogue-based soundtrack is here in
Dolby Digital 5.1 that should have been DTS, but is adequate. The score by Rolfe Kent is bemused and amusing. Extras include a solid Giamatti/Church
commentary, seven interesting deleted scenes that include notes from Payne, the
original trailer and a featurette that runs over 6.5 minutes. That is enough to make this more than a
basic edition. If you have not seen the
film, catch it.
- Nicholas Sheffo
