... But first impressions can be misleading, and in the case of 'Igby Goes Down' they most definitely are. The film is a wry mix of subtle humour and drama that represent a more sympathetic depiction of the Holden Caulfield character from 'Catcher in the Rye'.
Igby (Kieran Culkin) is the product ... Read review
A stunning ensemble of stars, including Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared ... more
Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman and Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon, all give terrific performances (Time Out) in this scathingly funny dark...
Comedy - Director: Gareth Carrivick - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Kathryn Drysdale, Sheridan Smith, Natalie Casey, Will Mellor, Ralf Little
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Advantages: A more sympathetic portrayal than Holden Cauldfield that will have you quietly laughing Disadvantages: It won't have you roaring with laughter and could do with a better editor
...Rye'.
Igby (Kieran Culkin) is the product of two wealthy and wildly different parents who move in the upper echelons of New York society. Although Jason Slocumb (Bill Pullman) has been institutionalised for years he appears to have provided more warmth to Igby's lonely life than his cold and intensely controlled Mother (Susan Sarandon), Mimi - who at times appears to be on the brink of madness herself. In fact, all of the influences ... ...comes as no surprise that Igby constantly wants to break out, and like Holden Caulfield, has never found the reason to use the advantages he has been given to excel academically. Kicked out of nearly every private school his mother could buy him into Igby is finally faced with the realities of the long threatened military school; where he attempts to break free by relying on DH's drug addicted trophy girlfriend (Amanda Peet), and the warm and sympathetic, ... more
This film wins the prize for the most ill representative film title and poster. The first impression they give is that this is one of those 'hilarious' slapstick teen comedies that'll leave you rolling in the aisles, or if you're like me, avoiding it like the plague. But first impressions can be misleading, and in the case of 'Igby Goes Down' they most definitely are. The film is a wry mix of subtle humour and drama that represent a more sympathetic depiction of the Holden Caulfield character from 'Catcher in the Rye'.
Igby (Kieran Culkin) is the product of two wealthy and wildly different parents who move in the upper echelons of New York society. Although Jason Slocumb (Bill Pullman) has been institutionalised for years he appears to have provided more warmth to Igby's lonely life than his cold and intensely controlled Mother (Susan Sarandon), Mimi - who at times appears to be on the brink of madness herself. In fact, all of the influences in Igby's life seem remarkably cold; from his repressed and contained older brother Ollie, to his apparently protective Godfather, DH (Jeff Goldlum), whose relationships are formed by contracts that take no account of human failings and the capacity for forgiveness. It comes as no surprise that Igby constantly wants to break out, and like Holden Caulfield, has never found the reason to use the advantages he has been given to excel academically. Kicked out of nearly every private school his mother could buy him into Igby is finally faced with the realities of the long threatened military school; where he attempts to break free by relying on DH's drug addicted trophy girlfriend (Amanda Peet), and the warm and sympathetic, but flawed Sookie (Claire Danes).
Unlike Holden, Igby is a character that the audience can relate to and emphasise with. Instead of just viewing him as a spoilt rich kid, we can see the reasons why Igby may have wasted his opportunities and see him beginning to make changes when warmth is directed at him. This is where Kieran Culkin really is a welcome surprise. It's easy to tar the entire Culkin clan with the same brush, but Kieran seems to have a maturity and subtlety to his performance that his older brother never seemed to master. Igby could just be a smart-alick teenager too caught up in his own world to realise that there are people out there who aren't born with the advantages of money. Instead we see someone trying to break free from his cold and constrained world to a place where people do not play games of verbal and emotional violence... but Igby does still have a lot of lessons to learn.
Where Igby is shown to occasionally release genuine emotion, DH only seems to express violence in as cold and calculating a way as he releases a barbed comment. Violence becomes part and parcel of a contract rather than being an expression of some internal explosion and Goldblum portrays this wonderfully with even surprise warranting hardly any reaction at all. In the same way as DH is always intensely calculating, Goldblum's performance is delightfully precise, and in that it appears entertaining in its elements of the ridiculous.
Sarandon is also exceptional as a woman who will refuses to show weakness against any odds - where weakness also appears to be showing genuine affection to either of her children. Her eyes stony betraying her iron will until the bitter end. Yet Sarandon somehow manages to prevent her character from being a full blown caricature by betraying precisely the right element of vulnerability when she is forced to rely on the partnership of her two children.
Mimi's legacy is seen clearly in Ryan Phillipe's performance of Ollie. Since Phillipe's performance in 'Gosford Park' he has proved to be a much better performer than his teen 'movie' credentials might suggest. Here he portrays exactly the right lack of emotion and uses scenes that could have been seen as a way of bringing vulnerability, as acts of manipulation.
Across the board the remaining performances in this quirky film are all able, with possibly the most 'normal' character, Sookie, being played perfectly ably by Claire Danes, and the most conventionally 'messed up', Amanda Peet's character, fulfilling her role well. With Bill Pullman bringing a heartbreaking sincerity to the more emotionally demanding scenes and a bitter sweet humour to the more bizarre moments such as his toast at the dinner table. One can see precisely why Igby would choose a similar path of breaking free of his established world.
The final star of this play is actually the writer and director Burr Steers. As the former he has provided the film's stars with some fantastic material that they obviously enjoy working with. What can possibly be better than being able to go to work and play games of word-play that contain such cynical and satirical wit?
In certain areas he also excels as a director. As described above he draws accomplished and well judged performances from his actors, but it is in his relationship with his editor that 'Igby Goes Down' falters. The film occasionally lurches from scene to scene with intercut scenes jarring slightly, and a repetitive ending that attempts to force a point that was perfectly well made in the previous scene. Images such as a falling spoon and the later shot of the spoon lying on the floor were obviously included as they contain some significance but, personally, I could not understand what this was supposed to mean. Perhaps it is here that Steers' background as an actor was not able to prepare him fully for his directorial debut.
'Igby Goes Down' is not a film for everyone. It does contain a variety of surprising and stimulating performances working with a delightfully wry script and a director who draws well on these resources. The quirkiness of the material and the nature of the characterisations may leave some audience member's bored, especially when the editing often serves to disjoint the flow of the film. For those who like the themes and characters present in 'Catcher in the Rye', Steers film will be a welcome reinvention of Salingers' eponymous character.
Advantages: some good performances Disadvantages: one bad script
...weekend gratis.
So, is Igby comparable to a Wes Anderson film?
NO REAL PLOT?
Igby is a bit of a ‘teenage tearaway’. We see snippets of his less than idyllic childhood in flashback, including seeing his father going through a nervous breakdown, and him generally not getting on very well with his mother. He steals his mother’s medication and credit cards, gets kicked out of every school, and finally runs away from military academy. The whole family, ... ...CARE ABOUT THEM ENOUGH?
Igby is a character I expected to enjoy watching. However, eventually I realised he just didn’t have any redeeming features at all, and I just couldn’t have cared less what happened to him. His elder brother, Ollie, is totally different to him, and yet still unlike able – he’s smarmy, slimy, and it made my flesh creep when he kissed someone. As far as I was concerned, they were both as bad as each other.
Their mother, Mimi, ...
pesky33 24.05.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Igby Goes Down (DVD)
Advantages: Great story. Great cast. Great film. Disadvantages: Can't think of any at all.
...only) and Pulp Fiction.
Igby Goes Down is very well written, and the film on a whole has been compared to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. It's black comedy and it's just my cup of tea.
The film follows 'Igby', no that's not his real name, as he is kicked out of school, sent to Military school, then, running away and ending up in his Godfathers mistresses studio in New York where he finds a friend in Sookie Sapperstein, who, like everyone else in his ... ...uses people, eventually even Sookie.
Igby is determined to leave them all and see some sunny days, no matter what it takes.
Kieran is joined with an all star cast who do tremendous. Susan Sarandon plays his mother, Bill Pullman his dad, Jeff Goldblum his Godfather, DH, Ryan Phillippe his brother, and Claire Danes as Sookie. Also watch out for Jared Harris giving an excellent performance as gay artist Russel.
That's my explanation of the story ...
DumpYou 29.10.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Igby Goes Down (DVD)
Advantages: Offbeat movie with black humour Disadvantages: Difficult to care for some of the characters
...plays the central character, teenager Igby Slocumb (but Igby’s a nickname, his real name is Jason). He may not be as well known as Macauley Culkin, but he certainly credited himself well here.
Younger brother, Rory (yet another Culkin, they’re everywhere!) plays the 10-year old Igby as well.
Oliver, Igby’s brother, is played by Ryan Phillipe He’s so perfect, an all-American golden boy – very handsome and all that, ... ...self-obsessed, and in many ways Igby has been robbed of his childhood.
Susan Sarandon is excellent, and I do wish she appeared more. She was nominated for a Golden Globe awards, for supporting actress, for her work in this movie..
Igby’s godfather is played by Jeff Goldblum – at times friendly, at times like a slimy, smarmy reptile. It’s a good performance.
When he’s in Manhattan, Igby spends much of the time at his godfather’s ...
rsmith 08.03.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Igby Goes Down (DVD)
...could never tire of.
Igby (Kieran Culkin, yes the brother of Macaulay) is a 17 year old at war with his family. The offspring of a schizophrenic father (Bill Pullman) and a pill-popping neurotic mother (Susan Sarandon) he also obtains no solace from his neo-fascist ‘genius’ brother Oliver (Ryan Philippe).
The film follows the teenager who, although sarcastic and full of answers, never fails to gain the sympathy of the audience. He’s led through ... ...appetite, DS introduces a naïve Igby to the world of peculiar characters in the form of drug addict Rachel, her gay ‘artist’ friend Russell and then incidentally a bored caterer, Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes). All played brilliantly.
What follows is a beautiful biographical insight into Igby’s journey through life and his attempt at not ‘going down’ whilst doing justice to every character in the film.
Although ‘Igby Goes Down’ was hardly publicised ...
Pipppppa 17.11.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Igby Goes Down (DVD)
Igby Slocombe is a mixed-up seventeen year old who attempts to discover himself by leaving his dysfunctional family and entering the bohemian underworld of Manhattan.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MGM ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
20/10/2003
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
24394 DVD
Barcode
5050070010435
Screenwriter
Burr Steers
Executive Producer
Lee Solomon, David Scott Rubin, Fran Lucci, Helen Beadleston
Featurette - 1. IN SEARCH OF IGBY, Commentary - 1. Burr Steers - Director, Deleted Scenes with director's commentary, Original Theatrical Trailer, Photo Gallery
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Unusually well-grounded in terms of its offbeat characters and ironic situations....Its unconventional wanderings eventually bring it to a place of truth..." (Box Office, p.54, 01/08/2002)
"...[A] poisonously funny and unstintingly furious gem....Heartfelt....The mixture of resignation, fury, and determination Culkin gives Igby is a formula all his own..." (Entertainment Weekly, p.71-2, 20/09/2002)
"...[A] remarkably assured directorial and screenwriting debut....It maintains a ruthless emotional honesty..." (New York Times, p.E10, 13/09/2002)
"...[With] sharp writing, solid direction, and varied, vivid contributions from a cast that boasts Susan Sarandon, Ryan Phillipe, Jared Harris, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, [and] remarkable lead Kieran Culkin..." (Premiere, p.18, 01/09/2002)
"...Darkly hilarious, unexpectedly heartbreaking....IGBY GOES DOWN sustains a buoyant spirit....Steers is generous to all his characters, creating juicy roles that the cast bites with relish..." (Rolling Stone, p.111-2, 03/10/2002)
"...IGBY GOES DOWN has considerable charms. The story runs along a similar trajectory to 'Catcher in the Rye'..." (Sight and Sound, p.47, 01/07/2003)
"...Go with it and congratulate yourself on unearthing a surprise treat..." (Total Film, p.97, 01/07/2003)
DVD Description
Seventeen-year-old Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin) comes from a wealthy but dysfunctional family. His mother (Susan Sarandon) is a pill-popping lunatic, his brother (Ryan Phillipe) is a collegiate, money-obsessed snob, and his father (Bill Pullman) is a hospitalized schizophrenic. After Igby is expelled from boarding school, his mother sends him to a military academy where he is brutalized by the other kids. He escapes to the Hamptons, where he meets Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), an enigmatic and artistic vegetarian on a break from Bennington College. Igby then goes to New York, where he holes up in the loft of the heroin-addicted mistress (Amanda Peet) of his reptilian godfather D.H. (Jeff Goldblum). He once again runs into Sookie, and the two begin an affair, which eventually falls apart as Igby realizes that he has never had anyone to trust, and he decides to try and change his life for the better. Burr Steers' impressive debut is clearly inspired by THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, though his film takes more pains to graphically show the familial reasons for its young protagonist's instability. At times a black comedy and sometimes something darker, IGBY creates a world where everyone's warmth and humanity is inversely proportional to their wealth--and most of the characters have money to spare. Culkin deftly carries an altogether impressive cast filled with strong performances.
Compare Igby Goes Down (DVD) to other similar Comedy »
![Igby Goes Down [DVD] [2003]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78519230.jpg)
![Igby Goes Down [VHS] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/83961575.jpg "Igby Goes Down [VHS] [2003]")
