Greenberg

I can imagine some people coming to this indie drama thinking it was another Ben Stiller comedy vehicle and being more than sorely disappointed. Ironically, this in itself is quite amusing. Stiller's Greenberg is like the most infuriating of his awkward comedy creations, with the pointed different that the world around him is a more realistic reflection of our own. This means that no one is laughing, least of all the audience, leaving Stiller's protagonist the dark and bitter flipside of his usual neurotic characters. It's an organic evolution of his earlier dramatic work in The Royal Tenenbaums and Permanent Midnight, but there's also a sense that Stiller is building himself an escape tunnel from typecasting, like he's starting to feel his way down the Bill Murray career-revival route just in case the public suddenly grows tired of Meet the Motherfocker or whatever his next blockbuster will be called.

Greenberg isn't a Stiller vehicle though (despite the title and star billing). It continues writer/director Noah Baumbach's exploration of dysfunction and misanthropy in due course, and is as much about the character of Florence (Greta Gerwig, who is fantastic by the way), whom Greenberg collides with during his L.A. sojourn. Greenberg is a post-nervous breakdown man in middle age, the letter-writing black sheep of his family, who returns to L.A. after a long absense to look after his brother's house. Once there he meets Florence, his brother's housekeeper and a vulnerable young woman who treads a fine line between ultra-nice and just having no self esteem. Florence is such a doormat that it will take a very special kind of arsehole to push her to change. Greenberg is just that arsehole.

There was a lot about Greenberg that hit a little too close to home for me, and for a lot of the 'slacker' generation it may be a bit too much to bear. There's something pathetic about someone of Stiller's age living the aimless lifestyle of a 19-year old, he exemplifies those who get left behind whilst all their friends and peers have families or embark on careers. This is slightly horrible but, in a way, the film made me feel a lot better about myself as a person. I wish it didn't and it kind of sucks in that respect... as far as films go, it's the most convincing argument for 'selling out' that I've ever seen (the film even directly addresses this with a subplot about Greenberg turning down a record deal in his youth) and this makes it a rather cynical and blackhearted piece of storytelling.

On an idealogical level (and this is mainly in relation to Stiller's character) I think I hate this movie - it's a dreamkiller and the more I think about it the more depressing it gets. If Noah Baumbach didn't already have the rather cool job of being a filmmaker then I'd label the whole thing a self-indulgent justification for turning one's back on art and creativity. As it stands, it's just a slightly weird and incredibly conservative ode to the sheep of the world. I'm not ragging on the positives of family life or the idea of settling down - the film doesn't really address any such thing due to placing it's entire narrative within the P.O.V. of Greenberg. It's just not a very enjoyable experience to see a talented creative team take all the negative aspects of a lifestyle choice and then use them to build such a cringeworthy portrait of wasted youth, selfishness, and bitter adulthood. As much as I might agree with what the film says, the idealist in me still never wants to see it actually said out loud. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much.

I admire Baumbach for putting difficult characters like Greenberg at the centre of his films but it unfortunately also means that I just don't enjoy the experience, especially when it's done in such a smarmy yet earnest fashion. It might redeem itself through intellectual stimulation for some people but since I don't really like what it has to say it still falls down for me. Definitely an acquired taste.

DIRECTOR: Noah Baumbach
WRITER/SOURCE: Noah Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh
KEY ACTORS: Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason Leigh

RELATED TEXTS:
- Baumbach has written and directed two other films, The Squid and the Whale and Margot at the Wedding.
- I think there are more than a few superifical similarities between the character of Greenberg and Steve Coogan's eponymous character from the British sitcom Saxondale.
- The Wackness is a similar mash-up that combines coming-of-age with a mid-life crisis, only it's a lot more entertaining.

AWARDS
Independent Spirit - nominated Best Cinematography, Best Feature, Best Actress (Greta Gerwig) and Best Actor (Ben Stiller).