Jimmy and Judy,a well-made semi-remake of "Badlands" with some "Natural Born Killers" thrown in for good measure, isn't a bad time at the movies, to be sure, but also isn't near as good as it should be.
I caught the world premiere of this movie at SF Indie, and I can certainly see why they picked it - edgy, counterculture, chock full of sex and violence. It's also very well acted, particularly by Furlong, and has terrific sound design. But ultimately, the film goes nowhere, with characters that neither illicit compassion nor interest, and a story which seems to meander, predictability, to a place that has nothing really to do with either Jimmy or Judy. We never really understand their "angst" the way we should. Apparently, just because they're young, sweaty, unkempt, swear and screw a lot, they get to be angry and rebellious.
The one moderately original thing about the film is that Jimmy videotapes everything (this is not a spoiler - it's evident in the trailer and from frame 1 of the movie), and this is used as a narrative device ala "Blair Witch". Kinda nifty, but still, nothing else in the movie - either Furlong's character nor the story, pay this off in any way, and ultimately, it doesn't make sense.
If you like angst for angst's sake, this is for you. But if you want to be engaged by story or character, you may do best to look elsewhere.
I caught the world premiere of this movie at SF Indie, and I can certainly see why they picked it - edgy, counterculture, chock full of sex and violence. It's also very well acted, particularly by Furlong, and has terrific sound design. But ultimately, the film goes nowhere, with characters that neither illicit compassion nor interest, and a story which seems to meander, predictability, to a place that has nothing really to do with either Jimmy or Judy. We never really understand their "angst" the way we should. Apparently, just because they're young, sweaty, unkempt, swear and screw a lot, they get to be angry and rebellious.
The one moderately original thing about the film is that Jimmy videotapes everything (this is not a spoiler - it's evident in the trailer and from frame 1 of the movie), and this is used as a narrative device ala "Blair Witch". Kinda nifty, but still, nothing else in the movie - either Furlong's character nor the story, pay this off in any way, and ultimately, it doesn't make sense.
If you like angst for angst's sake, this is for you. But if you want to be engaged by story or character, you may do best to look elsewhere.