After nursing an unexpected hangover today by leaving work early and taking a long nap, I have now embarked upon a weekend on my own. I have no plans at all for Saturday (hooray!) and Sunday is all about finally getting my hair cut and highlighted again. I do have to work for a few hours on Monday and then I'm meeting friends for dinner, but the next 2 days are all about my own decompression and sampling some movies, books and articles that I've had on the proverbial shelf for a while. I'll be posting about my sampling as I go along....
First up:
Thumbsucker
This DVD just arrived from Netflix. I didn't know much about it when it first came out a few months ago, but I remember seeing trailers and thinking the cast seemed really interesting. Vincent D'Onofrio, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn, Keanu Reeves, and Benjamin Bratt all play supporting roles, and Vince Vaughn and Keanu Reeves in particular were surprisingly, pleasantly playing against their type.
But even with that impressive supporting cast, the story of the movie focuses on 17-year-old Justin Cobb, played by Lou Pucci. This kid, this character, is so familiar. He's a lost teenager, struggling to grow up but not wanting to cut the ties to his childhood crutches. There's the literal habit that gives the movie its title, but he also has a really interesting relationship with his mother that needs to change and grow in order for him to be able to become an adult. Through the course of the movie, he learns about himself and his own abilities, about girls, about his parents' own humanity. His confidence grows, and by the end of it all he's not quite as maladjusted as he had been in the beginning. You feel good about Justin, that after all of his new experiences he's now ready to make a place for himself in this world. And that Polyphonic Spree soundtrack helps lift your spirits, even in a movie about overcoming fear and depression.
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