Igby Goes Down

I finally watched Igby Goes Down from beginning to end. Previously I had caught only bits of it on cable, often turning it on in the middle of the film and feeling a bit lost.

But I must say, an excellent movie.

A coming-of-age one, yes, and many of them do suck, and starring a Culkin (Kieren though) but very captivating, in a sort of Catcher In The Rye style. (the world sucks, people suck, etc etc)

Essentially Igby's (Culkin) the younger son of a dysfunctional -ish family. His older brother (Ryan Phillipe) is the 'perfect' son, a Columbia student, but who can be bothered with his brother. His mother (Susan Sarandon) has cancer, his father (Bill Pullman) is in the loony bin, his stepfather (Jeff Goldblum) is one of those slick filthy rich types.

No wonder Igby turns out the way he does - gets kicked out of every school he attends, gets sent to military school and then decides to cut a deal with his stepfather and hideout in one of his lofts.

All Igby wants to do is leave, leave New York and leave his family behind. He's rebellious yet not entirely dangerous.

Culkin really surprised me in this one. I guess I always just put him, his brother and the rest of the Culkins in this box that's labelled Do Not Watch, but he made you want to side with him, instead of wanting to hit him upside down for being the spoilt brat he is. Phillipe, whom I've also never really been a fan of except maybe in Cruel Intentions, also pulls his weight in this one. It's an amazingly strong case.

This is one of those films where the whole is more than a sum of the pieces. It's actually a somewhat aimless show, not very story-driven. Yet somehow it's a well-written, well-balanced movie.

Go see.