Review: ‘Away We Go’

It’s always a rare treat to have a film sneak up and appear out of nowhere, nearly devoid of marketing and then surprise the Hell out of you, proving to be one of the best films of the year. This was my experience with the new film ‘Away We Go’ from director Sam Mendes, whose last outing (Revolutionary Road) was less than stellar and down right difficult to watch.

‘Away We Go’ is hands down, one of the most rewarding and sincerely enjoyable films I’ve seen this year and perhaps even for a few years. The truth is, leaving a theater with an entirely fresh, positive and enlightened perspective on life is an extremely uncommon cinematic result. When it does occur, it’s usually proof positive that the film has had a profound effect on it’s audience and deserves some serious recognition. With that said, I am officially announcing my support for Oscar consideration for ‘Away We Go’.

The story follows Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph), an easy-going couple deeply in love but differ in their opinions of the merit in marriage. When they discover their unexpected pregnancy, Burt and Verona set out on purpose-driven road trip across the country in search of the perfect place to start their family. Their search begins with Burt’s selfishly eccentric parents, played with great comedic exactness by veterans Catherine O’Hare and Jeff Daniels. Their trip is triggered when they learn, despite having moved close to Burt’s parents for their child, his parents have decided to pick up and move to Europe one month before Verona is expected to deliver.

The ensuing journey takes the calm and cool couple from city to city, each currently the residence of a family member, friend or former colleague with which they shack up during their stay. With each encounter, Burt and Verona find themselves amidst an eclectic cross-section of how families can potentially turn out. This leads them through some seriousness contemplation and soul-searching with each other and themselves as the concept of bringing a child up begins to truly set its roots in their lives.

‘Away We Go’ is a film that succeeds on two polar extremes. The relationship between Burt and Verona is magical and heart-warming, but doesn’t pander to the unrealistic trappings of the typical romantic comedy. Quite literally, Burt and Verona are perfect together, but they begin to worry about the future of their family as a result of seeing so many families around them struggle in so many ways. While the movie offers plenty of intelligent humor, it also offers an amazing collection of powerfully poignant scenes.

Perhaps one of the best scenes to illustrate this cross of comedy and drama is when Burt and Verona visit Burt’s “cousin” LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and discover just how alternative her and her live-in partner Roderick are in their philosophy of life and family. Gyllenhaal gives an incredible performance definitively deserving of an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress, brilliantly melding the comical and the dramatically absurd into one mesmerizing performance.

A major underlying theme the permeates the entire film is the idea of marriage and the ongoing debate between Burt and Verona regarding it’s place and purpose in their lives. Does marriage constitute a family? Does a family require marriage to survive, or even to exist? What makes a family? This is the central question by which the story builds upon. Mendes has seemingly chosen to explore in ‘Away We Go’ the absolute opposite perspective of family that he did with ‘Revolutionary Road’ and has succeeded on a much higher level.

‘Away We Go’ serves up a delightfully simple visual approach, but not at the expense of being a masterfully shot piece of cinema. The film has the distinct feel of a road movie and the overwhelmingly independent sensibility to storytelling. The composition of the frames and editing of the sequences are worthy of praise, if not hidden behind their simplicity and intention for driving the story forward in a productive fashion. Alexi Murdoch’s original soundtrack is awe-inspiring and perfectly accompanies the film as a lyrical companion to the story. The soundtrack included original performances by Murdoch as well as performances of lyrics written by Bob Dylan, George Harrison and The Velvet Underground.

Outside of the many big-budget, special effects orgies that are slated to release this year, ‘Away We Go’ is most definitely amongst the top five must-see movies of 2009. The film also stars Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan as the couple Burt and Verona stay with in Phoenix, Chris Messina and Melanie Lynskey as the Garnett’s they stay with in Montreal and Paul Schneider as Burt’s brother they stay with in Miami. ‘Away We Go’ culminates with a beautifully constructed metaphor illustrating Burt and Verona’s answer to marriage and the ending carries an emotionally powerful and uplifting wallop, despite it’s minimal use of spoken dialogue.

‘Away We Go’ opens June 12 in Saint Louis at the Tivoli Theatre.