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DokBrowne [ 9.5 ]
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Like the Coogan/Brydon "Trip" series but burbling with more indie drama angst, but that's selling short the exquisite miniature emotional roller coaster of Jesse Eisenberg's travelogue buddy dramedy. This thing is calibrated exactly right for what it's trying to be, never too much or too little, a great study in two very different approaches to life (the hilarious/poignant deadpan of Eisenberg v the hilarious/poignant tortured id of Kieran Culkin). They have the kind of rare, beautiful, naturally occurring chemistry as actors that makes a project like this seem inevitable in hindsight, like they were destined to work together, how come it didn't happen sooner, etc.
But this is an ideal moment for both of them, Eisenberg just off the powerful, similarly winsome and stirring "Fleischman is in Trouble" miniseries where he also contended with middle-age existential disquiet, excavating new perspective from his own Judaism and being forced to see the world anew from the capricious behavior of loved ones. Eisenberg has shifted from the fully abrasive antagonists of his younger days to a more measured, mature neuroses that he still imbues with expressive meekness and quivering ache.
While Kieran Culkin, of course, still haunts our hearts and minds on a regular basis as the legend of "Succession"'s Roman Roy emanates well over a year after that series ended. From "Igby Goes Down" to that titanic TV show to this new pearl, he's refined a niche that goes beyond typecasting, more like a defining essence that encapsulates so much of the human experience every time - charming, difficult, obnoxious, victim and abuser at the same time, thoughtful, restless, ultimately a very sad force of nature. It's a performance magic or a natural extension of his real self or whatever, but it continues to be one of the most *alive* and heart-tenderizing works of any film/television actor out there in modern times.
Add to all of that the tourism angle - they're in a tour group going around Poland (led around by Will Sharpe who I never realized had such a lovely British accent), a country whose sights have never been highlighted for their own sake much in movies before but which is captured with considerable grace and affection throughout (I really need to take a trip somewhere, is the real takeaway here), and whose historical significance as a homeland for these characters' families as well as a semi-preserved Holocaust memory carries with it immense feelings and profound echoes that Eisenberg as director never has to overplay. A quiet walk through a concentration camp devastates without anyone making a dramatic scene about it. The extensive catalog of exclusively Chopin compositions playing during the entire movie adds greatly to the sustained mood.
Finally, just wanted to shout out a couple bigger scenes that made a particular impact - Culkin losing his shit about being in first class on the train, and later at a restaurant when Eisenberg breaks down in his appraisal of Culkin to the group. "Showy" moments you might say, but I love to see a filmmaker/actors clawing at complicated emotions, especially when they seem so authentically attuned to them like these guys.
Anyway mark this one down on my official report as an instant classic.
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| Weighted Rating | : 7.2 |
| No. Ratings | : 1 | |
| No. Reviews | : 1 | |
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