Perhaps it was meant to be, standing outside of the
Paramount Theatre in Kelowna on a still summer evening awaiting the fourth
member of our party to head in and see The
Way, Way Back. In a day of large,
spacious and sterile movie theatres with brightly lit foyers, I was transported
back into my childhood every time the doors to the Paramount opened. Inside I could see an almost claustrophobic
entrance with dim lighting which brought me back to simpler days of movie
theatres that had one, two or three screens.
What sent my senses directly into overdrive, though, was the smell of
stale popcorn that flooded out of the door to smack me in the face, only to
disappear the moment the entrance was once again closed. I was completely teleported back to summer
nights as a child, going to the theatre with my parents to see such classics as
The Goonies. Completely pulled from time and space, I was
awkward young Scott.
When the movie started, we are met with Duncan (Liam James)
riding in a panel station wagon, having a conversation with his mother’s
boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) with his mother riding shotgun and Trent’s
daughter reclined and lost in her own world.
In the conversation, Trent gives what we can only presume is what he
considers an encouraging speech to Duncan about the upcoming summer. The height of the encouragement and uplifting
comes after Trent asks Duncan how he would rate himself out of ten, and then
tells Duncan that in actuality he is a three.
The interesting part of this introductory scene is that of the four
characters, all are riding in the car looking forward to what may come, whereas
Duncan is riding in the trunk seat of the station wagon, looking back to where
he came from.
When they reach their destination, which is a cozy little
beach town on the Atlantic coast, we find that it is a summer trapped in
time. All of the characters here seem to
revert to the rhythms and patterns of summers past, never being able to let go
of those moments of their youth. Duncan,
a fourteen year old boy with a social awkwardness and lack of confidence that
transcends just existing in his interactions with others, but penetrates into
even his withdrawn posture and stance, has no place in which to fit. The other teenagers seem to be living in the
same cycle as the parents and just doing the summer motions as they have always
done.
What we have in this movie is an object, surrounded by
happily stationary objects, wanting to move, wanting to discover but not having
the abilities to naturally do so. We
follow Duncan as his want to escape the pain of his unhappy life forces him to
take some social risks, including awkward conversations with girls that I
myself can align with all too well. In
his pilgrimage with no known destination, he meets Owen (Sam Rockwell) who is a
manager at local water park. Owen is a
charismatic, laid back individual who develops a relationship with our socially
inept protagonist and hires him to work at the park, which is also completely
stuck in the past.
What follows is one of the most heartwarming, yet at times
emotionally torturous movies of the summer.
The performance by Liam James is unbelievable, and he captures the
nuances of his character to perfection.
The movie does have some very jilted transitions from moments of
elevated emotion, to Duncan being rocked by reality and left remembering the
harsh nature of his dysfunctional life at home.
Sometimes such quick emotional transitions do not work, but in the real
life of a socially lost individual the highs are intoxicatingly high and can be
swept out from under your feet as quickly as someone can remind you of who you
truly are.
The movie was written and directed by both Nat Faxon and Jim
Rash, neither of whom had directed a movie before. The talent they show in weaving a story of
different characters with deep personalities, using imagery to narrate the mood
would make people believe they have been around the block and had sat in the
director’s chair many times before. As
well, the acting performances by Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell were dynamic and
captured a real essence of the characters that they played. They both played a father figure to Duncan,
but one who went through the motions and the other who would do anything to see
the man develop his confidence and self-awareness.
In the end, this movie left me with so many emotions that I
was just completely unable to shake as the credits rolled. That truly is the sign of a good movie… it is
one that haunts you, whether you want it to or not. As I saw a lot of myself in Duncan, I know
that there are scenes and characters in the movie that other people can relate
to. Some scenes can be triggering for
some people, as Rash and Faxon seem to know well the instances and situations
that are able to cause tension among family.
As the movie ended, we once again had Duncan in the rear-facing seat of
the panel station wagon with the rest of the family once again looking
forward. But this time, as the car
reversed out from the driveway of the summer home, it was now Duncan who was
the lone character looking forward, a victor over summer by choosing to push
into the unknown and discover life.
Rating - 4 out of 4 stars
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