A Complete Review of Alexander Payne's work

Cast : Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph

What was it about?
In 1970, a curmudgeonly history teacher at a New England boarding school remains on campus during Christmas break to supervise held over students, and ends up forming an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker.

My two cents:
Well, following the rather abysmal ‘Downsizing’, Payne took his time to come with a follow-up but it was definitely worth the wait as he made a real come-back here. Indeed, this movie really deserves all the praise it has received and I really enjoyed the damned thing. I can’t say I have any knowledge of how it must have been to go to such a posh boarding school back in the 70’s but it was so well made, they managed to deliver a really convincing time capsule and they gave a very convincing feeling of such time and place. Also for Paul Giamatti, who was working again with Payne almost 20 years after ‘Sideways’, even though he is always a solid actor, it was a long time ago since he had such a juicy part to play and he really nailed it. The movie might seem long but I think it worked really well as it gave Payne the opportunity to properly develop the characters and how they grew closer during this rather short time period. At the end of the day, this cranky teacher and this smart but volatile student had more in common than they thought and it was nice to see their journey. However, the real wild card here turned out to be Da'Vine Joy Randolph though. She would eventually win an Academy Award for her performance and, indeed, she really impressed me. Such a complex character with so much depth and layers, her character was actually the most interesting one of the bunch.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiig, Udo Kier, Jason Sudeikis

What was it about?
A social satire in which a man realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself to five inches tall, allowing him to live in wealth and splendor.

My two cents:
Since I have always been interested in Alexander Payne's work, I was really eager to check this movie, even if it had been a big flop at the box-office when it was released. Well, unfortunately, it turned out to be a huge failure. Indeed, even though it was Payne's most ambitious work so far, pretty much nothing worked in this movie, I'm afraid. Basically, it started out as a weird science-fiction satire but it was completely unfocused and it constantly jumped from one weak idea to another. I mean, pretty much like the main character who had no clue what to do with himself, the viewer remains clueless about what the hell is going on and what the makers were trying to achieve. Even worse, I actually never cared. Seriously, even though Matt Damon was not bad, he played here a typical average American, at the same time, actually nice but still rather spineless and, as justly pointed out by Christoph Waltz's character, he was rather pathetic so it was rather difficult to really care about what he was going through. Concerning Waltz, he was actually the only one who managed to find the right tone and he played the only character who was really fun and interesting to watch.

My rating: 05/10

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Cast : Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb

What was it about?
An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

My two cents:
Following 'The Descendants' (which I very much enjoyed), fortunately, it didn’t take Alexander Payne so many years to come up with a new directing effort. In fact, Payne tried to get this movie made for almost a decade and it was only after the critical success of 'The Descendants' that he finally managed to get the necessary support. Anyway, I really enjoyed the damned thing. First of all, the black and white cinematography was gorgeous, the soundtrack was really nice and all the actors involved (especially Bruce Dern and June Squibb) delivered some really strong performances. On top of that, some of the dialogues were quite hilarious and I loved the depth that Bruce Dern managed to put in his character. So, there was a lot of good stuff in this movie, definitely, but I'm afraid it was still missing something to really win me over. First of all, I'm not a huge fan of road trips and, on top of that, that’s a gimmick that Payne has overused through the years (see also 'About Schmidt' and 'Sideways') so I had a rather hard time to really care about this tale. Furthermore, even though they tried to make us believe that Will Forte's character was some kind of loser, the guy was just so nice, so patient with his father and actually every one else, that he became slightly boring at some point and I missed in him the complexity and struggle displayed by his father. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, I still really liked it though.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer

What was it about?
A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.

My two cents:
I wonder why it took Alexander Payne 7 years to finally come up with a new director effort back then but I guess the guy is not really productive. Anyway, it was definitely worth the wait, that’s for sure. Indeed, I thought it was a very good drama with a perfect pace and it was probably the best directing by Payne so far. There were also some really strong performances and some of the best written characters I have seen for a while. The beginning monolog also stroke a personal chord in the sense that my ex-wife had been really sick for about 2 years when I first watched this movie and I had about the same internal monologs as our relationship was already pretty chaotic even before she got some health issues and even more afterwards. Of course, I didn’t went through the rest of the story myself but it was definitely a good start. In fact, many later years later, we actually got divorced so I had a totally different vibe while I was re-watching this movie. But the movie was not only about a family tragedy, it was also about the fate of an aristocratic family and what they should do with their land. That part of the story was also quite fascinating and it is quite amazing that they managed to balance such diverse topics in one movie. This movie will also always be remembered as being the breakthrough of Shailene Woodley, even if she eventually never really became the next Jennifer Lawrence as many predicted. She was still really good here though.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Margo Martindale

What was it about?
Through the neighborhoods of Paris, love is veiled, revealed, imitated, sucked dry, reinvented and awakened.

My two cents:
This anthology was pretty good and this little story was fine, even probably one of the best of the bunch. I actually rewatched it while making this list because I didn't remember it and it probably worked the 2nd time around because I was much older when I re-watched it. Indeed, it's actually not an easy short movie to analyze and it was really bold to have only one character with no dialogue, no action scenes and only an intern monolog in French with some super heavy American accent. The fact that this woman was pretty average in all aspects was also quite bold. And, yet, the damned thing actually worked. First of all, I did appreciate that Payne didn't give such a glamorous vision of Paris and, instead, it seemed quite fairly realistic even for a tourist spending there only a week. Furthermore, even though it all sound pretty average (it actually was), Payne did manage to give it some poetic touch somehow which was actually pretty neat.

My rating: 07/10 (for his segment and for the whole movie)

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Cast : Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh

What was it about?
Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.

My two cents:
First of all, following his great performance in 'American Splendor', you can say that, with this flick, Paul Giamatti really made it. From now on, he would be a major actor to reckon with (on the other hand, since then, he hasn’t played many lead parts in fact but he is definitely a highly respected actor). I also thought that Thomas Haden Church was quite amazing (thanks to this movie, he finally had his breakthrough) and together they were just a great duo. To be honest, I don’t think the story was anything really mind-blowing but the whole thing was just very well written and acted. Indeed, Alexander Payne, one of the most intriguing American directors at work nowadays, had once again created some fascinating 3 dimensional characters. If you expect shoot-outs, explosions and chases, you should probably avoid this one but if you are looking for a character driven movie with some great acting, you won’t be disappointed.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Hope Davis,

What was it about?
Newly retired from the insurance industry, Omaha native Warren Schmidt embarks on an RV journey to his estranged daughter Jeannie's wedding in Denver Colorado, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

My two cents:
I really have a weak spot for Jack Nicholson, I think he is a great actor, but sometimes, he tends to play the same charismatic hysterical guys over and over but, this time, he finally portrayed an old man who was actually acting like an old man and not like an oversexed teenager. Obviously, with such a terrific turn, Nicholson was once again nominated for the Academy awards (already his 12th nomination) but we shouldn’t forget Alexander Payne who was slowly building up a solid reputation as a director. Personally, I was a little bit disappointed by ‘Election’, his previous directing effort. I mean, it was pretty good but it could have been terrific. This time, he really nailed it though. Indeed, the characters were more grounded and less hysterical and it was easier to relate with them. At the end of the day, it remains a road movie, a genre with some rather rigid set of rules (a character leaves home, encounters some rather eccentric characters and he/she usually learns something about him/herself along the way) but this one was probably one of the most satisfying one I have seen.

My rating: 08/10

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Cast : Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein

What was it about?
A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.

My two cents:
Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. The interesting thing about this flick was above all to see Reese Witherspoon who, before starring in all those (boring) romantic comedies, showed up in this high-school satire. Honestly, I was expecting a little more but I must admit, it was still pretty good. Indeed, Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Klein were all perfectly cast and they all gave some really good performances. Furthermore, if you compare it to all those generic comedies taking place in high-school, this one was really original and gave a really different point of view with some pitch black humor. Still, in my opinion, the whole thing never really reached its full potential and maybe they should have gone all the way into the dark humor, I don't know. The fact that I didn't care much about the characters and their predicament didn't much help either, I guess. Still, it is definitely a funny and original high-school based comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see something different starring Reese Witherspoon.

My rating: 07/10

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Cast : Laura Dern, Kelly Preston, Tippi Hedren, Burt Reynolds

What was it about?
An irresponsible, drug-addicted, recently impregnated woman finds herself in the middle of an abortion debate when both parties attempt to sway her to their respective sides.

My two cents:
It seems to be rather forgotten nowadays and, sure, it isn't really a masterpiece but Alexander Payne is certainly of the best American directors at work today. Anyway, since I always had a weak spot for Payne's work, I was really eager to check his directing debut. Eventually, even though it didn’t really convinced me, I thought it was still pretty good. Indeed, it is basically one of those really pitch black comedies with loads of sarcasm and cynicism and it is always tricky to make comedy focusing on a character who is really unlikeable. Fortunately, Laura Dern really impressed me and it has been a while since I have seen her delivering such a good performance and I thought she was just pitch perfect in this flick. Still, it was pretty obvious that it was a directing debut since you could feel that they were a little bit stuck on the main concept. Sure, Ruth was pretty obnoxious and the people supposedly helping her were eventually not much better but it wasn’t really entertaining or interesting at some point. Still, if you love dark comedies, you should check this one out.

My rating: 07/10

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