REVIEWS Restless REVIEWED BY MIKE GOODRIDGE
Gus Van Sant’s latest is a delicate teenage love story which overcomes some self-conscious quirks to resonate as a gently moving hymn to life. It is basically a two-hander and boasts another imp- ressive turn from Australia’s Mia Wasikowska and a promising screen debut from Dennis Hopper’s son, Henry Hopper, but its emotional strength derives from Van Sant’s sure hand with actors, story and camera. Sony financed the film and has worldwide dis-
tribution rights but, for all its pedigree, it is a small, polished gem more at home in the arthouse than the multiplex. Its photogenic teen stars will not guarantee teen audiences, but with careful handling it could develop a following among older teens and upscale adults. The film opened Un Cer- tain Regard yesterday and Sony Pictures Classics will release it in North America in September. Restless opens with all the kooks and mannerisms
of a Wes Anderson movie. Hopper is a remote young man called Enoch Brae, who spends his spare time crashing funerals or playing Battleships with his (imaginary) friend, the ghost of a Kamikaze fighter pilot called Hiroshi (Kase). Enoch, we dis- cover, lost his parents in a car crash at an early age and has been unable to connect with life since then. The drama is grounded by the appearance, at a
UN CERTAIN REGARD
US. 2011. 95mins Director Gus Van Sant Production companies Imagine Entertainment US distribution Sony Pictures Classics International distribution Sony Pictures Releasing International Screenplay Jason Lew Producers Brian Grazer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard Executive producers Eric Black, David Allen Cress, Frank Mancuso Jr Cinematography Harris Savides Production designer Anne Ross Editor Elliot Graham Music Danny Elfman Main cast Henry Hopper, Mia Wasikowska, Ryo Kase, Schuyler Fisk, Jane Adams
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funeral, of the beautiful Annabel Cotton (Wasikowska) who, despite initial rebuffs, breaks through Enoch’s protective armour. He soon dis- covers she has cancer and has only three months to live, but they nevertheless decide to embark on a passionate and caring romance, helping each other on to the next stages of their respective paths. Jane Adams plays Enoch’s aunt, who moved
from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, to raise him following his parents’ death, while Schuyler Fisk is Annabel’s older sister. Jason Lew’s screenplay generally steers clear
of the maudlin, and ends on an upbeat note, in spite of the inevitable fate which befalls Annabel. Wasikowska, the busy young actress whose credits include Jane Eyre and Alice In Wonderland, anchors the film with another charismatic performance, heartbreakingly natural as she patiently tackles both illness and Enoch’s foibles. Hopper, who makes his professional acting debut here, is less convincing in a difficult role but has enough pres- ence to hold his own against her. Set in a wintry Portland, Restless has a similar
combination of eccentricity, melancholy and pro- fundity to Van Sant’s 20-year-old My Own Private Idaho and, though it is far less significant than that film, acts as a valuable reminder of the director’s sensitive touch and eclecticism. Lead producer on the film is actress Bryce Dal-
las Howard, who attended New York University with writer Lew and encouraged him to turn short plays on these characters into a screenplay.
n 26 Screen International at the Cannes Film Festival May 13, 2011
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