Cyrus

At the end of last week, I saw the bitter-sweet comedy which is Cyrus.

With John's social life at a standstill and his ex-wife about to get remarried, a down on his luck divorcée finally meets the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has another man in her life - her son. Still single seven years after the breakup of his marriage, John has all but given up on romance. But at the urging of his ex-wife and best friend Jamie, John grudgingly agrees to join her and her fiancé Tim at a party. To his and everyone else's surprise, he actually manages to meet someone: the gorgeous and spirited Molly. Their chemistry is immediate. The relationship takes off quickly but Molly is oddly reluctant to take the relationship beyond John's house. Perplexed, he follows her home and discovers the other man in Molly's life: her son, Cyrus. A 21-year-old new age musician, Cyrus is his mom's best friend and shares an unconventional relationship with her. Cyrus will go to any lengths to protect Molly and is definitely not ready to share her with anyone...

Cast: John C. Reilly - John, Jonah Hill - Cyrus, Marisa Tomei - Molly and Catherine Keener - Jamie.

Written and Directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass

Soundtrack by Michael Andrews

What I liked? The cast - all of them. The script.

What I didn't like? Nothing

Summary: A strong cast backed up with a strong script helped this dramedy rise above just being a good film or even an average film. Shot with hand held camera's or if not it felt lke it was, which I didn't mind in this case, it also added a sort of documentary style to the film. Not sure if that's what the directors had in mind though.
The acting was superb from the principal players, while I wasn't fully convinced of Hill's move to a more serious role, he still did really well with the part. However Reilly was just brilliant, his emotional range in this film is massive, riding a constant roller coaster of emotions. He never looked out of place once in the role. Tomei also shined with her own emotional turmoils. Both these performances are the center of this film and both worked so well for me I found myself really enjoying this movie.

I have to say though the trailers do make you feel you are going to see a full on comedy. But if you get past that, and find some attachment to these characters I'm sure you'll enjoy it. But if you want another Superbad, then this isn't that film.

Overall - Never laugh a minute, but great performances with a solid script make for an extremely good film (8/10)