A seriously misunderstood film, in my opinion.
I was looking for a short film to watch tonight (I was short on time) so I browsed Roger Ebert's four star films on Amazon Prime and saw the Spectacular Now with a run time of only 90 minutes. "What the hell," I thought. "It must be at least decent if Ebert loved it - even if it does have Woodley. I proceeded to watch the film (curse Prime for it's terrible video quality) and was engrossed during the entire 90 minutes, despite a few minor flaws.
I immediately checked the rating on IMDb and was taken-back by the (moderately) low score of 7.2. I read some of the boards and was shocked at the amount of disgust and dislike. I can wholeheartedly say that after reading some of the opinions of those on these boards, I understand where some of them are coming from. The movie is quite disgusting at times(especially with the excessive drinking, which is my only complaint), but let me explain myself.
I am 17 years old. Yes, my age makes a difference here - not because I'm "incapable" of loving "true" film or because I'm only supposed to like specific movies catered to my particular demographic (ie Transformers, the Avengers) but because I am the age of the characters in this film. I can relate to them in a clearer way than, say, a 40 year old. Now, I'm not trying to say that this film can only be enjoyed by teens - quite the opposite - in fact, I can think of a lot of reasons why teens wouldn't like this movie. It's (as someone before me as said) "painfully real," aside from the, once again, excessive drinking. It can be hard to accept something like this, I think. No, the reason some people love this film and others hate it is because of personal experience. For me personally, I'm living this right now. For others, maybe they lived it already.
Without needing to be said (I'll say it anyway), I have no experience with life. I shouldn't really have a say in such things. However, I do have similar experiences to that of Sutter, the protagonist of the story. No, I don't mean similar experiences in the way he drinks or has sex. The way he feels, the inner conflicts, the confusion and the sadness and pressure is what I can relate to - as can others.
"Are you happy," Sutter asks his teacher, a full grown man - an adult. The teacher looks at him thoughtfully, taking his words to mind.
The Spectacular Now is a seemingly simple movie about a teen who wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and in the process he gets drunk. That's what a lot of people see this movie as, and they're not wrong - that is, essentially, the film. However, I think there are numerous undertones and messages present throughout that suggest stronger themes. Themes like life, being alone, the meaning of happiness, what true emotion is and isn't, facing reality, society, and most importantly, facing ourselves. Sutter is a complex person. He's got it all figured out - or so it seems that way. He lies to himself and to others, convincing everyone and himself that everything is okay, that he feels fine, that he doesn't care when in fact none of this is true. He isn't okay, he doesn't feel fine, and he does care. As he says at the end (heavily paraphrased), "I was afraid. Afraid of the pressure and the expectations. I didn't want to let myself down so I just hid it all."
This is a powerful statement. Many of us probably don't realize that we may not be happy - truly happy - and just play along with what we think society expects from us. I don't speak for everyone, obviously, but perhaps there are indeed those who feel in a similar way, such as myself. I'm at a point in my life where I'm still figuring things out - in fact I'm just starting. That's really what this movie is about. Acceptance. Happiness. The ability to move on and keep moving forward, to find things worth living for because without them, what is there? Sutter doesn't realize what's important until it's too late, which is unfortunately true for a lot of people in real life.
The thing I really admire about this film is that it doesn't throw all this in our face. If it did, it wouldn't have the same effect because answers in life aren't thrown at us; they're given in code and we don't have the key. We have to sit and think and reflect, which is exactly what this movie had me do during and after watching it.
I honestly didn't expect this film to work. I feel like the only thing it had going for it was Ebert's four star review (speaking of Ebert, I believe this was the last film he ever reviewed. How fitting, and God bless him.) Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley were both absolutely brilliant in this picture. I will admit, Teller didn't always seem like he was a high school senior but Woodley, my god. Was she acting? Her performance was so natural and real. It was pretty amazing.
Overall I guess you can tell I liked the film. I was going to rate it an 9 but after thinking about it more I think it may deserve a 9. The only thing that puts a dent in the movie's brilliance is the amount of drinking and the fact that Sutter can walk around and drive with alcohol in his pocket all the time - not the mention that it rarely affects him in a serious way or that other people, including adults, don't smell it in his breath.
Perhaps this post was a little personal - that's okay. I hope anyone who read it enjoyed it and could appreciate what I'm trying to say. I'm all ears. If you loved the film, tell me why. If you hated it I would honestly love to hear your thoughts as well.
"As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible" - Mr. Nobody
My ratings include TV shows