I loved Director David Gordon Green's debut feature George Washington (which screened at BIFF during 2001) but I couldn't really get into his new film All the Real Girls
On paper it seems like an enchanting and simple story idea, local gigolo falls in love with best mates sister, and this time its for real. Gordon Green doesn't play it for gawkish sentimentality, but instead tries to infuse a very real sense of place and feeling; his continued use of the stark decaying urban landscape is put to good effect as it was in his first feature.
But the dialogue, which was described in the program guide as natural and casual, to me came off as script generated and false. Rarely are the characters saying anything or acting in any way that is typical of teenagers; everything is done for dramatic effect rather than realism.
Gordon Green has always had a great eye for the best way to film a frame visually, but with All the Real Girls its his own script that lets him down. It might not be too kind to say this, but I spent most of the film trying to figure out whether the lead character was playing a guy with a mild retardation, or whether the actor himself was mildly retarded. I don't think any girl would fall for his weird patter and pick up lines. Perhaps they do things differently in the Deep South.
On paper it seems like an enchanting and simple story idea, local gigolo falls in love with best mates sister, and this time its for real. Gordon Green doesn't play it for gawkish sentimentality, but instead tries to infuse a very real sense of place and feeling; his continued use of the stark decaying urban landscape is put to good effect as it was in his first feature.
But the dialogue, which was described in the program guide as natural and casual, to me came off as script generated and false. Rarely are the characters saying anything or acting in any way that is typical of teenagers; everything is done for dramatic effect rather than realism.
Gordon Green has always had a great eye for the best way to film a frame visually, but with All the Real Girls its his own script that lets him down. It might not be too kind to say this, but I spent most of the film trying to figure out whether the lead character was playing a guy with a mild retardation, or whether the actor himself was mildly retarded. I don't think any girl would fall for his weird patter and pick up lines. Perhaps they do things differently in the Deep South.