All the Real Girls
Posted by martinteller on July 5, 2011
I feel like on a different day I might have liked this a lot more. I just felt like it was trying too hard to be “honest” or something. Too much buzzy, gentle, ambient music and too many instances of people inarticulately saying something that’s accidentally profound, know what I mean? David Gordon Green is doing everything he can not to get too big, but there’s a transparency to the quietude that annoyed me. I liked the sentiments being expressed, there’s some lovely touches, and Zooey Deschanel is surprisingly not that bad. I just didn’t care enough about these characters to be more than mildly interested. Rating: 7
Melissa Tamminga (@oneaprilday) said
“Too much buzzy, gentle, ambient music and too many instances of people inarticulately saying something that’s accidentally profound, know what I mean? David Gordon Green is doing everything he can not to get too big, but there’s a transparency to to the quietude that annoyed me.”
^^This is so well-put. It gets at what really bugged me about the film. The best small-indie films are those that walk that fine line and give us something slightly inarticulate that doesn’t SEEM like intentional inarticulateness – and thus, with genuine ingenuousness, the best small films get at something that actually is profound or profoundly moving. This film’s “quietude” and “inarticulateness” all felt very intentional while showing itself to be trying very hard not to seem intentional, and so I didn’t buy it as being at all profound. Like you though, I suspect that at a different time in my life, I might have liked this more, maybe even loved it. Maybe if I had seen it as young college student, maybe if I’d not seen many other indie films that do a better job – I’m not sure.
Have you seen the recent The Exploding Girl? It’s one of those very small indie films that is reminiscent of All the Real Girls in a number of ways – but for some reason TEG really worked for me, even if I could predict the last few beats/shots of the film. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on it. On Netflix Instant currently
martinteller said
I have not seen TEG, or even heard of it until you mentioned it. Might be one I need to check out.
I did really love DGG’s George Washington, although now I wonder if my reaction to it today would be closer to my reaction to ATRG.
Melissa Tamminga (@oneaprilday) said
I would, actually, like to see George Washington still since it seems one that gets put on lists of films people love. I’d like to figure out why, exactly, cinephiles generally seem to like DGG so much and maybe seeing that one will help.
Do let me know if you watch TEG – I might be crazy for liking it, and I’d love another opinion!