Every year, there\u2019s at least one movie that I don\u2019t see in time for the voting, a movie that I hear mixed things about, and then when I finally catch up to it, I fall in love.<\/p>\n
Junebug <\/em><\/strong>is that film for 2005. Looking at my current list, I\u2019m going to find it a place in the Top 10\u2026 probably the Top 5. I loved it.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be writing about it soon, praising it and urging everyone to rent it and check it out. (It\u2019s rated R for some harsh language and fleeting scenes of sexuality.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s all done with such subtlety and honesty. People who found it to be a cruel caricature of the South must not be from the South. This is a far cry from the tendency toward caricature we see in Alexander Payne or the Coen Brothers. Payne\u2019s films don\u2019t make me feel like he has much affection for his characters (although Sideways<\/em> was a step in the right direction). And the Coens clearly have affection for their characters, but they also can\u2019t help but exaggerate everything to the point of Looney Toons.<\/p>\n I disagree with the critics who called it a cruel caricature of Southern life, and it\u2019s the farthest thing from cheesy and formulaic. The characters are three-dimensional, believable, and compelling. The portrayal of Southern-style American Christianity is honest and gracious. And I was deeply impressed by the complexity of the relationships. I never lived in the South, but I recognized that church body from my own upbringing in a similar church in Portland, Oregon. I think it\u2019s the most honest and gracious portrayal of American Christians on the screen since The Apostle<\/em>. My wife was recognizing all kinds of things, from the pregnant silences to the nuances of conversation at baby showers to the throwaway comments loaded with meaning and even judgment. It had a powerfully emotional effect on her, drawing her back into a world that she both loved and reviled.<\/p>\n Amy Adams is brilliant, and I hope she wins the Oscar. In fact, I think it\u2019s the only truly Oscar-worthy performance on the supporting actress list.<\/p>\n But I thought everyone was convincing. Even the eccentric Alessanrdro Nivola, who is sometimes so odd as to be distracted, creates a unique character with a conflicted heart who was fascinating to watch.<\/p>\n The slow pace of the film, the quiet moments in empty spaces\u2026 this felt like a real place, a real family, with real problems.<\/p>\n The screenwriters, the director, and the cast all demonstrate remarkable restraint throughout, giving us a lot to think about.<\/p>\n I\u2019m giving it an A. This is this year\u2019s The Station Agent <\/em>for me. It\u2019s the one that got away. (I\u2019m wishing it was technically a 2006 film, so I could count it as such, like The New World<\/em>. But alas, I\u2019ve got to treat it retroactively.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s a shame the majority of the Christian press (including me) didn\u2019t pick up on this when it opened. I\u2019m glad Andrew Coffin at World<\/em> did, and he appreciated it for what it was. But we at Christianity Today Movies really missed the boat on this one, and I\u2019ll have to take some of that responsibility.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every year, there\u2019s at least one movie that I don\u2019t see in time for the voting, a movie that I hear mixed things about, and then when I finally catch up to it, I fall in love. Junebug is that film for 2005. Looking at my current list, I\u2019m going to find it a place […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1843],"class_list":["post-14422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-junebug"],"yoast_head":"\n