Movie Review: Lonesome Jim

Director: Steve Buscemi

Starring: Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler

UK Release Date: 11 April 2008 (US Release 2005)

Tardy Review Date: 19 January 2011
Format: DVD

A quirky indie film with depression and laughs

Well, this one is a weird one to be starting with, in more ways than one. I don't know how it ended up on my LoveFilm list and can't say I'd even heard of it before I got the dispatch email. Still, I checked out the summary and it sounded kind of interesting, so I figured I'd give it a go rather than just send it straight back.

If I was going to describe this film in one word it'd be something like Offbeat or Quirky but that wouldn't really be doing it justice. I mean, it definitely is offbeat and quirky but it's much more than that.

Ben Affleck is the 27 year old Jim of the title, who quits New York and returns to his parents house in Indiana to reassess his life. His 32 year old divorced brother Tim is also living in the family home so that he can afford the maintenance payments for his two daughters.

To say the atmosphere in the house is awkward would be an understatement. It's almost like a home-based version of The Office, with a number of laughs coming from uncomfortable pauses and friction between the family members. When Jim arrives home unannounced, he barely speaks to Tim or his parents. There are plenty of scenes with the mother, excellently played by Mary Kay Place, desperately trying to share time with her sons and overstepping the line in her efforts. The heart to heart she tries to instigate with Tim whilst he's in the bath and attempting to cover his modesty is endearing and cringeful in equal measure.

The two sons seem intent on showing their dissatisfaction with their lives at every turn and Tim, in particular, makes no efforts to consider the feelings of others, with some of their comments seeming utterly brutal. One such interaction with his already depressed brother leads to a suicide attempt from Tim, which still seems to prompt little reaction from Jim himself.

Thrown into the mix of this disjointed family are a few neatly crafted characters that prevent the story from stagnating and deliver its (albeit limited) arc. Tim picks up Nurse, Annika (Liv Tyler) in a bar for a one-night fling. When he later begins dating her, he finds himself accompanied on their dates by her young, but wise before his time, son. The more healthy mother-son relationship here contrasts well with the too-old-to-be-at-home Tim and Jim, and starts to wear away some of his hard edges.

Being forced to work in his parents's factory, Tim also gets to know his uncle Stacy (Mark Boone Junior), the true villain of the piece, who prefers to be called Evil. Evil is a small-time crook and drug dealer with a healthy chunk of rough-edged charisma and he delivers a few of the best one-liners and a couple of nice slapstick moments.

Stylistically, the film is about as far from Hollywood as you can get. Apparently they had to film it on mini-DV due to budget cuts, and it shows, but this adds to the reality of the story. It's almost documentary-like at times, with a clearly hand-held approach and basic, minimal editing. The DV has given a desaturated look, which mirrors the way the colour seems to have drained from the characters lives. There is no American dream for sale in this film and it's down-to-earth approach and deliberately mundane backdrops seem more reminiscent of British indie, or even kitchen sink dramas, than any typical US output.

Ultimately this is a film about depression, self-obsession, disappointment and avoidance of responsibility, but it's not at all presented in a depressing way. It's funny and, yes, quirky and offbeat. I found myself laughing out loud a few times, and that's not something most comedies achieve these days. Whilst Jim's depressions may be genuine, Tim seems to affect his depression and wallow in it, making it possible to draw humour from this façade. One of his funnier lines, following Jim's suicide attempt, hits this nail right on the head - 'I came home to have a nervous breakdown, but my brother beat me to it!'

If you like broad, Hollywood comedies, slickly edited and with a glossy style then this definitely isn't for you. But if you don't mind a bit of shaky camera work and a low-budget style, then there are enough good performances, interesting characters and laughs to make this worth your while.