James White
Directed by: Josh Mond
Written by: Josh Mond
Starring: Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, Ron Livingston
Drama - 85 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 30 Nov 2015
Written by: Josh Mond
Starring: Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, Ron Livingston
Drama - 85 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 30 Nov 2015
Paraphrasing Cynthia Nixon, James White’s mom, she tells him “We feel the highs way up here and we feel the lows way, way down here. There is a lot of space in the middle we can live in as well.” This is some sage advice James should latch on to. We don’t see too many highs, but James’s circumstances and his reaction to them provide plenty of lows for him to wallow in and kick off some more self-destructive behavior. James is not a guy I would want to count as a friend, he seems to require too much care and feeding, but watching him arrive at realizations and perhaps glimpse a ray of enlightenment every now and again is worth the ride. Director Josh Mond’s first feature film is a close-up view of stressed out, directionless arrested development; it leaves the audience aching for one of those character transformations all too common on screen yet few and far between in real life.
James (Christopher Abbott, A Most Violent Year) is perpetually “ready for life”. He is the guy you know who swears he can and will tackle all of his problems once he gets back from an extended vacation from his days full of couch-surfing and unemployment. In an amusing misdirection, Mond introduces us to James in a crowded, sweaty dance club pulsing with techno beats and sneaky recreational drug use. He’s wearing a hoody we’ll often see him in and even has ear buds playing some softer pop/jazz tunes in his ears; although, how he can hear the songs with the pulsing club speakers vibrating his body is anybody’s guess. Suddenly, James steps outside and it’s the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night that we were led to believe.
James is late for his father’s shiva. We learn almost nothing about James’s relationship to the recently deceased other than they were not close. However, we learn a lot about James’s character from the way the guests react to him including shock he’s not in jail and knowing acceptance that of course he is late; the shock would be if he showed up on time clad in appropriate attire. Lacking either awareness of proper social graces or acting out on his habitual drugged-up and numb feelings, James kicks everybody out to give his frail mother a break.
James’s most admirable quality is his loyalty to family and friends, even if it is misguided at times. His mom is in remission from cancer and he likes to remind her how much he helped out when she was sick when she gets on his case for lack of job and prospects. Decamping to Mexico for his final vacation before that whole ‘real life’ stuff, the audience can also lay back and breathe freer because we realize how up close in James’s personal space we’ve been. Cinematographer Matyas Erdely fills at least 75% of every frame with James’s head. His furrowed brow and alcohol sweats become good friends.
In Mexico, James’s troubles abate and we finally get some wide screen shots we didn’t realize we were screaming for. All to soon though, James gets a phone call mom is sick again and no sooner does James put one foot back in New York City then we’re up front in his face again. His mom opts for hospice, a fact she didn’t share with James. Cynthia Nixon delivers the film’s most powerful performance as a very sick woman dealing with bouts of dementia and balancing feelings of irritation, anxiety, and thankfulness for her son.
A key late scene between James and his mom is the film’s best and its savior. Nixon lays her head on Abbott’s chest, exhausted from being carried to the bathroom, and in just one extended, stationary, medium-shot, I believe the audience briefly sees James figure it out. The only weapons James has on hand to combat his mother’s fever, which seems about to kill her, are extra strength Tylenol and a lukewarm washcloth. James is so used to yelling and swinging his fists at his problems, this scene of frustration, worry, and finally resignation is tremendously effective.
Josh Mond is a member of Borderline Films, a company where three partners take it in turn to produce and direct their products. Mond produced 2011’s Martha Marcy Mae Marlene and now takes advantage of his spot in the rotation to transform his semi-autobiographical screenplay into his first film. James White isn’t the most likeable fellow in the world and appears to cause more problems for himself than even his father’s death and mother’s cancer create. Yet, Abbott and Nixon create characters we want to watch and Mond brings to life an intense, gut-wrenching wakeup call with a stingy slice of catharsis. We don’t have to revel in the highs and drown in the lows, take advantage of the in between.
James (Christopher Abbott, A Most Violent Year) is perpetually “ready for life”. He is the guy you know who swears he can and will tackle all of his problems once he gets back from an extended vacation from his days full of couch-surfing and unemployment. In an amusing misdirection, Mond introduces us to James in a crowded, sweaty dance club pulsing with techno beats and sneaky recreational drug use. He’s wearing a hoody we’ll often see him in and even has ear buds playing some softer pop/jazz tunes in his ears; although, how he can hear the songs with the pulsing club speakers vibrating his body is anybody’s guess. Suddenly, James steps outside and it’s the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night that we were led to believe.
James is late for his father’s shiva. We learn almost nothing about James’s relationship to the recently deceased other than they were not close. However, we learn a lot about James’s character from the way the guests react to him including shock he’s not in jail and knowing acceptance that of course he is late; the shock would be if he showed up on time clad in appropriate attire. Lacking either awareness of proper social graces or acting out on his habitual drugged-up and numb feelings, James kicks everybody out to give his frail mother a break.
James’s most admirable quality is his loyalty to family and friends, even if it is misguided at times. His mom is in remission from cancer and he likes to remind her how much he helped out when she was sick when she gets on his case for lack of job and prospects. Decamping to Mexico for his final vacation before that whole ‘real life’ stuff, the audience can also lay back and breathe freer because we realize how up close in James’s personal space we’ve been. Cinematographer Matyas Erdely fills at least 75% of every frame with James’s head. His furrowed brow and alcohol sweats become good friends.
In Mexico, James’s troubles abate and we finally get some wide screen shots we didn’t realize we were screaming for. All to soon though, James gets a phone call mom is sick again and no sooner does James put one foot back in New York City then we’re up front in his face again. His mom opts for hospice, a fact she didn’t share with James. Cynthia Nixon delivers the film’s most powerful performance as a very sick woman dealing with bouts of dementia and balancing feelings of irritation, anxiety, and thankfulness for her son.
A key late scene between James and his mom is the film’s best and its savior. Nixon lays her head on Abbott’s chest, exhausted from being carried to the bathroom, and in just one extended, stationary, medium-shot, I believe the audience briefly sees James figure it out. The only weapons James has on hand to combat his mother’s fever, which seems about to kill her, are extra strength Tylenol and a lukewarm washcloth. James is so used to yelling and swinging his fists at his problems, this scene of frustration, worry, and finally resignation is tremendously effective.
Josh Mond is a member of Borderline Films, a company where three partners take it in turn to produce and direct their products. Mond produced 2011’s Martha Marcy Mae Marlene and now takes advantage of his spot in the rotation to transform his semi-autobiographical screenplay into his first film. James White isn’t the most likeable fellow in the world and appears to cause more problems for himself than even his father’s death and mother’s cancer create. Yet, Abbott and Nixon create characters we want to watch and Mond brings to life an intense, gut-wrenching wakeup call with a stingy slice of catharsis. We don’t have to revel in the highs and drown in the lows, take advantage of the in between.
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