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Igby Goes Down (2002)
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Movie Review by Ezra
April 7th, 2007
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With the exception of Kurt Russell, child stars usually go nowhere when they're no longer "cute". A recent example of this is Macauley Culkin, whose younger brother Kieran has now become an accomplished and successful actor.
In Igby Goes Down, Kieran Culkin (who also starred in this year's The Dangerous Lives of Altarboys) stars as Igby, the mischievous and witty product of a highly educated and extremely dysfunctional rich family. This is not, however, a Royal Tenenbaums spinoff; it is less lighthearted ---- more demented.
The supporting cast is equally superb ---- Jeff Goldblum oozes smugness as Igby's godfather, Susan Sarandon is perfect as his cold-hearted b*tch mother, Claire Danes is intriguing as his pseudo-girlfriend, Sooky (Igby and Sooky; how Salinger-esque) ---- but Bill Pullman nearly steals the show as Igby's dad. This is not an easy thing to do, since he has barely ten minutes of screen time.
But first-time writer-director Burr Steers (who apparently had a role in Pulp Fiction) seems aware that the strength of the film depends on the actors more than it does on him, though his script is very clever and well-written. He shows directorial skill, though, by not letting the dialogue overcome the authenticity of the performances; some of the best scenes in the film are those in which the essence of the scene is left unspoken ---- it is in the actors' faces and eyes.
But, overall, the film depends on Culkin, and he pulls it off; he is not yet the actor that his costars are, of course, but if he stays in unique independent films, he has a bright future in this film cynic's opinion.
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