Elizabethtown DVD > Reviews > Elizabethtown

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Very ordinary
Characters / Performances	Unmemorable
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Unmemorable

Advantages:	Great soundtrack, beautiful cinematography
Disadvantages:	Poor choice of lead actors, overly long

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

After initially looking at the promotional poster, this is not the kind of movie which would normally appeal to me - young, happy people on the cover, a feel-good story, with no function or actual point, but as I had a free chance to see Elizabethtown I took it. And I was even more disappointed with it that I had expected to be.

The Cast

Orlando Bloom………………Drew Baylor
Kirsten Dunst………………..Claire Colburn
Susan Sarandon……………..Hollie Baylor
Alec Baldwin………………..Phil de Voss
Bruce McGill………………..Bill Banyon
Judy Greer…………………..Heather Baylor
Jessica Biel………………….Ellen Kishmore
Paul Schneider………………Jessie Baylor
Loudon Wainwright III………Uncle Dale
Gailard Sartain………………Charles Dean
Jed Rees……………………..Chuck Hasboro
Paula Deen………………….Aunt Dora
Dan Biggers…………………Uncle Roy
Alice Marie Crowe………….Aunt Lena
Tim Devit……………………Mitch Baylor

Writer / Director / Producer: Cameron Crowe (Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire)
Producer: Tom Cruise

The Plot

"If life's a journey, it's the detours that really count." - Drew Baylor

Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom), a sports shoe designer, is fired from his job by his boss (Alec Baldwin) after creating a very unsuccessful trainer, "the Spasmotica" and losing the company millions of dollars. Realising his only real passion in life is over, Drew plans to commit suicide. But moments before completing the deed, he receives a phone call telling him that his father, who he had not spent much time with since he became occupied by footwear, has passed away suddenly whilst visiting his hometown, Elizabethtown, Kentucky. In a humiliated, depressed and detached state, the film follows Drew's journey to attend his father's funeral in Elizabethtown, then bring the ashes home to his distraught mother (Susan Sarandon) in Portland, Oregon. On the flight out he meets optimistic air stewardess Claire (Kirsten Dunst), who makes a resolution to herself to help him, and to bring a wholly positive influence into his life when he least expects it. They build up a close relationship through phone calls, and as Drew explores his roots and family ties surrounded by the Southern charm of small town Kentucky, the combination of support helps him to enjoy his life once more. On a soul searching roadtrip home with the ashes, Claire accompanies him via a homemade compilation CD, and their bond becomes stronger, resulting in a predictable ending.

The Soundtrack

Crowe excels at capturing the atmosphere and feel of scenes with great music, and this soundtrack is one of the best I've heard on a movie for sometime. He employs Elton John (My Father's Gun), Tom Petty (It'll All Work Out), Nancy Wilson of Heart, The Hollies (Jesus Was A Crossmaker), The Hombres with Bob Dylanesque style, Lynard Skynard and others to achieve a feel of "The Great American Radio Station.". An excellent selection of samples are available to listen to at www.elizabethtown.com.

The Opinion

This movie has received mixed reviews, some critics berating Crowe for his extreme self-indulgence at making another semi-autobiographical movie (this time based on his experience with his own father). As I mentioned earlier, the subject matter would generally not rank as my cup of tea, so I wasn't expecting too much from it. And my scepticism was not unsubstantiated.

Elizabethtown tries too hard to belong to two very different types of genres, and in the end fits into neither. It is not deep enough to mark your life or beliefs, it's not funny enough to keep you laughing for two hours. In fact sometimes the mix is just to inane - for example during the memorial service, after the touching words and reminiscences, a large paper mache bird, catches on fire and crashes in to those gathered to pay their respects. This movie tries to deal with very dark and serious issues - sudden ruination of a promising career; loss of a father; contemplation of suicide; loss of a husband - but treats them in a light and belittling way.

I found the main downside to the movie to be the choice of lead actors. As part of a lonely minority that have never watched Lord Of The Rings, I havn't seen Orlando Bloom act before, but I was disappointed at this mediocre attempt at a leading role. His brooding, suicidal character, experiencing the worse things life can throw at you all at once did not betray anywhere near enough emotion. Even worse was Kirsten Dunst's quirky saccharine sweet Claire, who I found neither compelling or particularly likeable. This role needed to be filled by someone with an immense amount of natural charisma, especially as she is meant to have enough appeal to bestow upon a stranger new purpose and direction in life, but I just didn't find her personality irresistibly attractive enough. In fact, her cutesy ways were downright irritating - if I was contemplating the end, five minutes in her company would push me over the edge and around the other side.

The true stars of the movie were the bit part characters, the long lost relatives who lingered in the background portraying an accurate feel of small town Kentucky life. These people, and the small role from the ever superb Susan Sarandon were the saving grace of this film. Sarandon, as the neurotic, unstable mother coping with the loss of her husband and trying to move on, steals the only real comedy moment, with a bizarre gabbled speech and a bout of tap dancing at her husband's memorial service in front of a large room of rather shocked family members.

The finest thing about this movie is it stylised to show the best of certain aspects of American life. There is a strong focus on the beautiful scenery, the kind and generous society, and the idyllic atmosphere of small town life, much inspiration being taken from quintessential American artist Norman Rockwell, who gets a mention at the beginning of the film. One of the best sequences is the roadtrip, where we see beautiful landscapes, hints of unstaged local cultures, and shots of poignent national sights of interest, such as the motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated and the memorial to the Oklahoma bomb. The roadtrip is the whole movie in a nutshell - Drew openly grieves and ponders on the good memories of his father, and finds release by scattering his ashes along the way. In my opinion it is the only decent ten minutes in over two hours of dross.

What Crowe set out to do here was to make, "a movie that could blend tears and laughter." This could have been touching down to earth introspective exploration of life. Instead it was an overlong, tedious chore that I found neither moving or uplifting. Thank God for the music. And as my mother rightly pointed out, after all that fuss they never did say what was actually wrong with the trainers.

Released: 2005

Rating: 12A

Running time: 123 minutes

© 2005 V.L.Collyer