Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is still living off the
success of his first novel which was published when he was still in his teens.
Ten years on he is struggling to write despite having no friends to distract
him. In an attempt to help him open up his shrink (Elliot Gould) tells him to
write a few pages about whatever comes to mind. After waking from a recurring
dream about an enchanting woman, Calvin finds that he can’t stop writing. His
writing comes to a halt though one morning when he wakes up to find his
literary creation Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) is alive and in his kitchen making
eggs. Has he gone insane or has his character really jumped off the page and
into his life?
The trailer for Ruby
Sparks was excellent and I was really looking forward to the film. It had
the sort of buzz that accompanied Little
Miss Sunshine and looked to be a quirky and funny indie comedy of the sort
that I’m very fond of. Now I’ve seen the film I can attest that the trailer is
even better that I thought as it trails a film which doesn’t quite live up to
the advert and certainly isn’t as funny as advertised.
Although there are several funny moments and plenty of
witty, well written dialogue, the film is much more of a drama-comedy than
comedy-drama. Instead of being a knockabout comedy about a man living with his
own creation, Ruby Sparks is an
examination of the male ego, idealised people and control. It is packaged in an
eccentric and attractive wrapper but underneath it is much deeper and darker
than the trailer suggests. The final third gets incredibly dark and serious and
one scene in particular had my heart pounding and made me quite anxious. Much
like any film about a new relationship, there are plenty of ups to begin with,
followed by expected downs. The characters and narrative are very well written
by lead actress Zoe Kazan, following on from fellow indie stalwart Brit Marking
(Another Earth) in showing that if
the roles aren’t forthcoming then why not write one that’s perfect for you. And
Kazan is pretty
much perfect for the role of Ruby. The idealised version of her character is
pretty, light, quirk and effervescent but she has the acting and writing
ability to be able to turn all of this on its head when need be for the darker
moments. On a side note I thought Ruby was the best dressed female character
I’ve seen all year.
Despite enjoying the film when I was watching it and liking
it more, the more I think about it, I left the cinema feeling a bit
underwhelmed. I can’t quite put my finger on why but it may be a combination of
various things. Firstly the film wasn’t funny enough. Secondly it was far too
pleased with itself and much too quirky. It must be hitting about a 6.9 on the
Deschanel Scale for quirkiness. Finally it ended far too neatly for me although
the ending is left open for two possible explanations which I did like. Where
the film is successful is in its depiction of the control one person can have
over another and although it is a much heightened version, it is quite scary at
times. Paul Dano, who is very good throughout, takes on the air of a horror
villain in later scenes, talking in a quiet monotone as he humiliates and
mentally destroys Ruby. The film’s messages about reducing people to an idea or
a concept come across very strongly and remain with you.
The film’s look is very appealing. It is crisp and clean and
features some great wardrobe and interesting set design. Calvin’s white,
cavernous house matches his personality, while his mother’s is like a jungle
maze, littered with religious relics and crazy Spaniards. As I’ve mentioned
previously, Ruby’s dress sense is right up my street while Calvin has the whole
Woody Allen thing going on, something which matches his character and the film
to some extent. The soundtrack is great to listen to. I’m always up for a blast
of Plastic Bertrand’s Ca Plane Pour Moi but
although I enjoyed listening to the soundtrack it sometimes felt like the film
was trying too hard to be different or unusual and almost every song was either
French or classical. There is nothing wrong with that but it just adds to the
quirkiness which is sometimes a little grating.
Overall Ruby Sparks isn’t
the film I thought it was going to be but is fine. It isn’t a laugh a minute
comedy but brings up some dark ideas which it confronts you with in a capable
manner. The script is good and the acting, especially from the two leads,
excellent. Subtle changes may catch you unaware and while you’re enjoying one
of the lighter moments or enjoying Kazan’s
smile, they may take you by surprise and wife the smile off your face in an
instant. In the end though the film is a little bit forgettable, to the extent
that when asked by three different people what I saw at the cinema last night,
I struggled to remember each time.
7/10
GFR 6/10
Hi Tom, great review. I was quite taken by this and really impressed with both Kazan and Dano, you can tell they are a couple in real life, though I assuming he has less control over her than this film portrays! Don't know about you but I am getting a little fed up with the string of ambigious endings which seems to be the flavour of month at the moment with recent indie films, maybe I just need more closure. Keep up the writing, really enjoying reading it.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much. I enjoy writing about what I see and I'm glad that people enjoy them. I also though both leads were very good and you're right about the chemistry. As for ambiguous endings, if they add something to the overall picture or enjoyment then great. They do appear to be the go to ending these days though.
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