A lot of films claim to be "dark comedy" when in actuality they're more like "comic horror". There's a difference.
Dark comedy should make us laugh at the concepts of death, violence and tragedy. Examples would be the hilarious "Beetlejuice", "Grand Theft Parsons", and even campy stuff like "Men at Work" & "Weekend at Bernie's". The idea here is to take us to a goofy, cartoonish world where death & violence are meaningless. Either that, or the dead guys always deserve it.
Other films, though excellent in their own right, are a little too rooted in realism, and unless you catch yourself in a somewhat sick state of mind they can come across as being disturbing (probably intentionally so). Examples would be "Heathers", "Pulp Fiction" and the Coen brothers films. I love all of those movies, but sometimes they just freak me out.
"Leaves of Grass" pulls off a violent story but does it in a way that's not upsetting. The movie takes the philosophical approach that it's irrational to fear death. Midway through, we get a quote from the Greek philosopher Epicurious who argued that death (or the state of nonexistence) should not be feared as long as we're alive because it can't touch us. When it finally does claim us, we're dead (nonexistent) so we're not able to feel it. In other words: what you'll never know can't hurt you.
I loved the little bits of philosophy peppered throughout the movie (the main character being a philosophy professor). It was just enough to keep it on a deep level without getting us bogged down in heady psychobabble.
The story itself is somewhat unrealistic, but that adds to the cartoonish vibe I mentioned earlier. You're not supposed to look for loopholes & inconsistencies. Just sit back & enjoy the ride. Like I mentioned above, fans of philosophy and literature (Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass") will get a kick out of it. If you're one of those, also check out the Jim Jarmusch films "Dead Man" and "Ghost Dog".
Dark comedy should make us laugh at the concepts of death, violence and tragedy. Examples would be the hilarious "Beetlejuice", "Grand Theft Parsons", and even campy stuff like "Men at Work" & "Weekend at Bernie's". The idea here is to take us to a goofy, cartoonish world where death & violence are meaningless. Either that, or the dead guys always deserve it.
Other films, though excellent in their own right, are a little too rooted in realism, and unless you catch yourself in a somewhat sick state of mind they can come across as being disturbing (probably intentionally so). Examples would be "Heathers", "Pulp Fiction" and the Coen brothers films. I love all of those movies, but sometimes they just freak me out.
"Leaves of Grass" pulls off a violent story but does it in a way that's not upsetting. The movie takes the philosophical approach that it's irrational to fear death. Midway through, we get a quote from the Greek philosopher Epicurious who argued that death (or the state of nonexistence) should not be feared as long as we're alive because it can't touch us. When it finally does claim us, we're dead (nonexistent) so we're not able to feel it. In other words: what you'll never know can't hurt you.
I loved the little bits of philosophy peppered throughout the movie (the main character being a philosophy professor). It was just enough to keep it on a deep level without getting us bogged down in heady psychobabble.
The story itself is somewhat unrealistic, but that adds to the cartoonish vibe I mentioned earlier. You're not supposed to look for loopholes & inconsistencies. Just sit back & enjoy the ride. Like I mentioned above, fans of philosophy and literature (Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass") will get a kick out of it. If you're one of those, also check out the Jim Jarmusch films "Dead Man" and "Ghost Dog".