Leaves of Grass – Review (SXSW)

Last night I got a chance to check out the premiere of Leaves of Grass here at SXSW.  Leaves of Grass is an interesting film directed by Tim Blake Nelson starring Edward Norton and Keri Russel.  The film is about a Brown philosophy professor who lives life by a strict set of rules until he is suddenly tricked by his twin brother into returning home.  Once he’s home, everything he’s taught about philosophy is suddenly challenged and yet confirmed by the crazy things he experiences while home.  Oh, and did I mention this is a comedy?

Leaves of Grass finds itself in the strange uncharted territory.  At its core it is a smart, dry, yet slightly awkward dark comedy.  However, it ventures into the often gimmicky territory of having an actor play two roles.  In a way, Norton succeeds in portraying two characters well.  Taken individually, both characters are incredibly performed.   But there is just something about seeing an actor in two places on the screen that just takes me out of the movie.

The film is incredibly smart and funny.  Tim Blake Nelson appreciates the intelligence of his audience.  There is even a joke about epistemology.   It’s clear that this is a very personal film for Nelson.  It takes place in his home state, and its obvious that he bases both of the characters on elements of his own personality. The film waxes poetic about philosophy and literature, and sometimes to very funny effect.  At other times it seems like nonsensical drunken rambling.  Most of Norton’s philosophy jokes and soliloquies  work pretty well.  But Keri Russel’s meandering Walt Whitman references seemed forced.  It almost seems like they were shoe horned in so that “Leaves of Grass” wouldn’t just be referring to Brady’s state of the art grow farm.

The overarching theme of the film is that intelligence is often falsely equated with academia.  While Bill’s character is incredibly intelligent, Brady far surpasses him despite the fact that superficially Brady is a pot-head redneck.  Nelson succeeds at breaking away from stereotypical characters, while still maintaining the humorous elements of the stereotype.  Perhaps Brady is a genius, but he’s still a red neck.  Both Edward Norton, and Nelson in his role as Brady’s friend Bolger succeed in portraying the duality of an intelligent yet uneducated person.

Towards the end, the movie takes quite a few unexpected turns.  There is truly very little that is predictable about this film.  At times the movie can turn suddenly violent and has the amazing quality of being both shocking, tragic, and funny at the same time.  The film movies at a casual pace, and sometimes it isn’t very clear if you are supposed to laugh, or gasp in shock.

All in all, the film is a cerebral comedy made for a smart audience who is tired of the traditional Hollywood fare.  But in the same respect at times its easy to get frustrated with the film’s insistence on being smart at the expense of moving forward.

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