Leaves of Grass

I thought this was just another comedy, but decided to watch it regardless, as Edward Norton usually makes good movies. And this was no exception. This movie was really, really cool. It had a good combination of comedy, drama and action all blended into one mix. And it worked out quite well.

This is not just a movie about weeds and drugs, it is so much more than that. Sure the weeds are a core essential to the movie, but it is also about family values, friendships, embracing your heritage, and coming to terms with your past.

The cast was phenomenal, especially Edward Norton, who did a superb job in both his roles. And the supporting cast was really good as well. Some famous names in the bunch, and everyone delivered good performances.

"Leaves of Grass" never left me bored, as it was compelling from start till end. You should watch this movie, because it is somewhat of a gem in a vast market of endless movies.

Highly recommendable.

Ed Norton is great as always, playing two diametrically opposite but highly intelligent identical twins. One brother, Bill, is a professor of classical philosophy who has worked hard to eradicate his Oklahoma accent and fit into the world of east coast academia. The other, Brady, stills lives in Oklahoma and makes good money selling high-grade marijuana with his red-neck buddies. Brady tricks Bill into returning home for the first time in 2 decades so that Bill can be an alibi while Brady commits a crime in another city. Although Bill is furious and is tempted to fly back home immediately, he ends up staying a few extra days and visits his mother for the first time since childhood. He also meets Janet, played by Keri Russell, a beautiful, intelligent woman who can recites poetry while gutting a catfish. It's an enjoyable movie with quite a few surprise twists along the way.

The strengths of the movie were excellent performances by Norton and Russell, and even director Tim Blake Nelson was great in the role of Bolger. This movie will probably do very well at the box office because of the big name cast plus some great dialogue and humour. I didn't love the ending though, because of too many coincidences and some implausible scenes near the finish. Also, there was an exploration of Christian-Jewish animosity which seemed like an awfully heavy theme to (briefly) deal with here in what is essentially a romantic-comedy. I almost gave this a 6, but the great acting is definitely worth at least an extra point and I bumped it up to a 7 out of 10.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer ... but never forget the closest thing of all: Family. Although it seems quite distant (beginning) it might be actually the closest (especially if you consider the mind set). But this movie is not about interpreting things or about good or bad.

And while Ed Norton (1) tries to make sense of things, Ed Norton (2) also is very free and does everything he wants to do (either you read the summary and know what I'm about or you are going to have to watch the movie to understand). Great actors in a very twisted little story, that has not easy answers or solutions. Which might be satisfying or not. Depending on your view of things. I liked that it dared to go the direction it took and that it switched gears between comedy and violence (though it didn't feel right mood-wise for the movie).

"Leaves of Grass" at its core is a coming home movie like many others. Typically, coming home movies are about city folks coming back home to the country. Initially, they experience all the things that made them flee to begin with, then they are reminded of all the things they love.

In this film Billy Kincaid (Edward Norton) was a philosophy professor in Boston while his twin brother Brady was a marijuana grower in Little Dixie, Oklahoma. Brady was in hot water with Pug Rothbaum (Richard Dreyfuss), a Jewish loan shark. Brady had a plan to get out of his predicament, but it involved his brother Billy.

"Leaves of Grass" had plenty of known names and faces. Besides the two actors I already mentioned there was Susan Sarandon, Tim Blake Nelson (who wrote, acted, and directed), Pruitt Taylor Vince (known for "Identity"), and Josh Pais. The movie was humorous and a little surprising--in a good way. It wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be and that's probably one of the highest compliments you can give to a movie.

Edward Norton stars as Bill Kincaid a sensible ivy league philosophy professor who makes a trip home to Oklahoma, and Edward Norton stars as Brady Kincaid, twin brother, a rash hillbilly drug dealer who gets himself mixed up in bad drug deals and murders. "Leaves of Grass" is a dark comedy, crime drama and ultimately character study.

It starts out with a fair amount of comedy. Both brothers are pretty funny in their own way. There are a number of pot jokes which even seem original. The film slows down as it introduces us to all the different characters. Too slow, in my opinion, as we are all anxious to see what crimes the brothers get themselves into. And then those crimes play out with a lot of violence.

The interesting thing about this film as that it really is just a character study at its heart. Norton and writer Tim Blake Nelson do a great job with Bill as he examines who he is and what he really wants out of life. I recommend "Leaves of Grass" to people who like the idea of a philosophical character study played out as a violent, comedic, crime drama.