I'm not going to lie, this is the film I was most looking forward to out of the entire MIFF program. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is one of my favourite directors, and the only director whose entire filmography I've seen. Including Alien Resurrection. This film marks his English language debut, and his first film shot in 3D. With all this in mind, when I went to see the film yesterday my expectations were pretty high. And not only were they met, they were exceeded!
First of all, this is the only time I have ever been impressed by 3D. The cinematography is truly breathtaking, and the use of 3D only enhances the visuals rather than hindering, like it does in so many other films. One of the main problems I have with the medium is that the overall film ends up too dark to completely enjoy, but here, the colour balance was good, and I could actually see what was going on. If only every film that used 3D didn't waste it as a cheap gimmick to be applied during post-production as a way to make extra money.
Also excellent is the acting. After stagnating for a few years, Helena Bonham Carter is excellent as TS's mother, Dr Clair. The character could have been played as feather-brained, but instead Carter plays her with a grounded personality, providing an interesting spin on the absent-minded professor parent-type character. But the real stand-out here is Kyle Catlett as the eponymous TS, a boy genius who tries to deal with a family who doesn't understand him in the wake of a terrible tragedy that affects them all. While there are moments when his youth comes across as almost grotesquely cutesy, but Catlett's personality manages to create a character rather than just a caricature.
I suppose I should now move onto the plot, which when described is fairly straight forward, but when you're watching it you come to realise that the film is not really about the plot at all. Anyway, the basic story is 10 year old TS Spivet invents a perpetual motion machine which wins a prestigious scientific award. After some thinking, TS decides to hitch a freight train to Washington DC from his Montana ranch to accept the award in person. When he arrives there, he realises that winning the award is not the answer to his problems that he thought it would be. That's what the basic plot is, but like I said, the film is more of a study of how this rather odd family comes to terms with a recent tragedy, and move forward from it.
The film is littered with the usual Jeunet-isms that may annoy if you aren't familiar with his style or are just not of fan of it. There is a voice-over narration that talks about seemingly inconsequential everyday occurrences, there are little animations or cut-aways to show these occurrences, a lot of time is spent describing little details, there is a vintage feel to the sets and costumes, Dominique Pinon turns up somewhere... the list goes on! I love his style, because it's different and unique to Jeunet. But I have found a lot of reviews describing this as 'overly twee'. And to a certain extent, I agree. But then you have to remember that this film is told from the perspective of a ten year old boy. The film explains how he notices the small details in his life and how he is fascinated by them, so naturally they should appear regularly in the film. If you keep that in mind, then this film becomes an interesting examination of how, while maybe not all children, at least this child reacts to the world around him.
It's not perfect (no film ever is!). One of the problems I had was that the plot sometimes got a little confusing, since a lot of cuts are used between the characters and their situations. But it's hard to know whether it's in TS's head, or if it's actually happening, or if it's a flashback. It's also resolved fairly easily and without any of the complications you expect to arise. But because the actions remain true to the characters (and because I'm a sucker for a good old fashioned happy ending), I can forgive the rushed feeling of the end.
If it wasn't already clear, I really, really like this film! I haven't managed to find out if it's getting a larger release in Australia, but I'm hoping it comes out to a wide release (it won't, I'm just setting myself up for disappointment). I hope Jeunet continues to make films as interesting as this, and his previous ones. If you're a fan, you shouldn't be disappointed. If you aren't a fan, then we can't be friends. If you have no idea who I've been rattling on about, then try and see this film. It's a good introduction to Jeunet's world, while also being good family entertainment. Enough gushing now. Until next time, readers.
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