The current cinematic climate teems with talented independents trying to have their voices heard over one another. So naturally, many of those working outside the establishment try to garner attention through shocking their way to notoriety.
Since audacity speaks loudest and quickest, the coherent, subtle indie film is the equivalent of a whisper and is understandably in short supply. But, striving for subtlety can prove just as risky-critics are quick to praise just about any understated film that comes along-and the line between restraint and tedium is certainly a thin one.
Phil Morrison's \Junebug"" plays like a delicately funny, moodier version of ""Meet the Parents,"" exploring the awkward and poignant interaction between the high-class Chicago art dealer Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) and her newlywed husband George's (Alessandro Nivola) family in North Carolina.
The prim, British-accented Madeleine immediately finds herself at odds with George's taciturn father (Scott Wilson) and somewhat hostile, distrusting mother (Celia Weston), while his exuberant, seemingly dim-bulb sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams) clings to her excitedly. Ashley is pregnant and unhappily married to George's brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie), who pretty much sulks and tries to find cigarettes all day.
Think of it as the anti-""Sweet Home Alabama""-there are no Civil War reenactments, nor is there a single ""y'all"" to be heard. Screenwriter Angus McLachlan and Morrison have made a conscious effort to dig deep beneath the potential stereotypes and inevitable trappings of the genre; these characters are vividly drawn and depicted, with impeccable attention to actual human behavior.
""Junebug"" is like a thousand other films and still feels original because of the grace and care with which Morrison and his superb cast approach the material.
Although the cast is uniformly impressive, McKenzie and especially Adams make the strongest impression. Yes, everybody else has said it, but it is true: Amy Adams is a shoe-in for a Best Supporting Actress nomination, and this film, if nothing else, will propel her career. She could have channeled Britney Spears and played Ashley as a giddily annoying, trailer-trash dumbass, but instead, Adams' richly nuanced performance, brimming with intelligence and wit, is the crucial center of Morrison's film.
""Junebug"" is precise and affecting, but it's too slight and reserved to be truly memorable as a whole -beyond a few sublime moments. Its lack of conventional dramatics both enhances and hinders it-as an open-ended, heartfelt character study it succeeds without question, but outside of Adams' performance, there just is not enough there to qualify it as extraordinary independent filmmaking.
The film is not a masterpiece, nor is it one of the best films of the year, as many critics have claimed; its purpose is to present an oft-told story, but this time free from clich??, in which its characters are realistically, dismissively nasty to each other.
It is compelling without being arresting, intriguing without being engrossing. The keen and thoughtful ""Junebug"" gently dissects the family drama and provides a low-key showcase for Morrison and Adams' talents.
