Sideways
Director: Alexander Payne
I admit I went into this film with the deck stacked against another touchy-feely Hollywood romantic comedy flick, quite apart from its salacious reputation as something of a chauvinist film, where two butt ugly men get with beautiful women they don't deserve. Feminist critics (hate them) are quick to point out that the same circumstances enacted with the gender roles reversed (two butt ugly women get with beautiful men) would probably never happen. I concede they may have a point.
But such a review does injustice to the film, which is ultimately an intimate exploration of two unprepossessing characters, both of whom have severely dickhead qualities (to employ the technical terminology, of course), and develop somewhat over the course of the film as individuals. What makes this less horrendously saccharine is that these 'transformations' are far from complete, and the characters still come across as deliciously, humanly flawed. This is the movie's most commendable quality - it's perfectly intimate, unburdened by knotty plots and overdone intrigue, and its simple, pure storyline rests entirely on its intimation of character. Beautifully shot, with an especially striking scene of the two 'buddies' (because really, it's a very male buddy film) sitting on a bench in the middle of a screen filled with a waterside vista. Also keep an ear open for the beautiful lines on wine.
Nonetheless, as with far too many of the best Hollywood films, it's based on a novel, which explains the depth of character understanding - something Hollywood has never really been consistently good at - and which I now really, really want to read.
[Edit] Flicked through and speed-read the last four chapters or so of the book Sideways, and have concluded that it reads almost like a screenplay itself, and has not much literary merit, but fulfils the role of being a genuine and competent examination of character. Which is just what the film exudes, really.