La gran caída de Igby

I found this to be a second-rate rehash of Rushmore. Second-rate movies being almost as good as first-rate, that means this is a pretty good film. Just not as good as Rushmore.

I am not sure why they require a minimum of 10 lines in each comment, but the above three lines encapsulate all I have to say about Igby Goes Down, and the rest of this is just filler. I apologise, but then again I didn't make up the 10 line rule. I'm not sure if the blank lines between paragraphs count (probably not), but at this point I'm only up to 9 lines. Just a few more words of blather and I'll be good to go. Is this far enough? We'll see...

Ten out of ten. One of the greats, with memorable characters you'll think about for days. This great film got caught in MGM/UA distribution purgatory. If it could have busted out of the indy circuit from day one and gotten into general release, it would have been favorably compared with "The Graduate" and Kieran Culkin's performance with Dustin Hoffman's debut performance in that Mike Nichol's classic. MGM/UA blew it.

Culkin is a great young player with a look and resources evoking both Hoffman and Robert Downey. He's naturalistic and great to watch. Smart, funny, urbane writing by first time director Steers is never "on the nose". Yet underneath the evasive, sarcastic stripped down dialogue he pulls hard hitting emotions from his ensemble. Not a false or wasted scene and more than a few really powerful ones. Every player is at the top of their game, from Kieran Culkin to Amanda Peet, Jeff Goldblum to Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman to Claire Danes to Ryan Phillippe. They're obviously guided by a director who knows how to work with an ensemble to get an overall tone.

Igby is the anti Ferris Beuhler - a smart wanna be who's wise mouth and attitude usually piss off those around him - his mother, his brother, his godfather. Torn between those who don't get him and those who do (Peet, Danes), Igby paints all his relationships with the same sarcastic brush, his vulnerability only busting out when he's pushed to the limit. Culkin's perfomance is not to be missed. The key women, Sarandon, Peet and Danes all play fully formed characters. Goldblum is perfect for his role, his usual facile acting style well suited to the South Hampton prince he plays; his best turn in years.

Seers has style and flow, and his final cut is aided by the excellent music choices he and his music supervisor, Nick Harcourt arrived at. Cameron Crowe couldn't do better. The Igby soundtrack is tres alt moderne and every cut is great.

Warning: Actors are blocked (brilliantly) for wide screen format. So this film will suffer from TV / video screen ratios as the Graduate does. Either go see it in the theater NOW or wait for letterbox!

I'm very pleased to see other reviewers comparing Kieran Culkin's character Jason/Igby to The Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfield - while watching the film I was thinking the same thing, much to writer/director Burr Steers' credit. This is THE Social Commentary movie I have been waiting to see for a long time now - fearless, witty, arch, poignant without being sentimental, and, best of all, the characters are not one-dimensional, they all live and breathe and we feel the agony they are suffering behind their socially privileged masks.

Culkin is especially brilliant (and so sad, with his Harry Potter scarf - a young wizard without any magic), but everyone shines here - Sarandon, Pullman, Danes, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Jeff "how-can-I-be-any-creepier" Goldblum, and of course Jared Harris, who positively reeks eccentricity without even having to open his mouth (but when he does, it's always good too). A fine first film from a director/writer who definitely bears watching.

This film was amazing. The acting, the characters, the plot and the visual story were all so refined. This was a film that defines the new adage 'Quiet is the new loud' and sets a new standard for coming of age films. Much like The Royal Tenenbaums, this film was full of a dysfunctional family that although unlike anything in most viewers' experience, was real and honest and touched a part of all of us. Also like the aforementioned film, this movie's soundtrack was so well picked and so well executed, I was overwhelmed.

Burr Steers, a first time screenwriter and director? Is he perhaps channeling his uncle, Gore Vidal, to write and direct this amazing tale? I can't wait to see more from him. Kieran Culkin is equally as promising. He acted the part with such a surreal mix of sullen intelligence, backwards bravery and touching empathy that Igby came to life the moment he hit the screen. Jeff Goldblum and Susan Sarandon were also perfectly cast and were outstanding... I can't mention each of them as there was too much to gush about.

I highly recommend that you run out and see this, but bring a tissue and plan to go celebrate the irony of life and all it's imperfections after you go!

My first thought when I finished watching this film was, `I can't believe I really enjoyed a film that starred a Culkin.' My subsequent conclusions about the film were not as easily reached.

When I decided to watch this film, I was expecting The Royal Tennenbaums: Part 2. Rich family, the story takes place in a big city, eccentric characters. While both films share these elements, they are very different in that I considered The Royal Tennenbaums to be mostly a comedy; while Igby's few comedic moments are so dark one almost feels badly for chuckling. What this film is really about is family, but not just in the traditional sense. (What is more traditional than a disapproving mother who is more concerned about herself than anyone else in the family, a clinically schizophrenic father, and two brothers: the elder a narcissist (if not practical) and the younger, a rebellious 16 year old who is forced to change schools more often than most of us change our Glade Plug-Ins.) It is about family in any sense: Friends, strangers, anyone Igby encounters and tries to gain acceptance from.

Culkin's Igby, who looks like a waifish Harry Potter without the `imp factor', is an extremely conflicted character. We have seen rebellious types portrayed ad nauseum in films for decades, but it is a rare occasion when this person is both sympathetic and extremely intelligent. The character draws you in enough that you actually want to know why he acts the way he does, and you truly want him to find happiness. Unfortunately, it appears that when a door opens, it slams just as quickly. Culkin is truly fantastic in this role. He shoulders a character that is both intelligent enough to defend himself, yet vulnerable enough to give the impression of fragility. The rest of the cast is also decent, particularly Jeff Goldblum as D.H., a larger than life character who is conflicted in his own right. The story was just complicated enough to keep me very interested, while endearing and thought-provoking enough for me to reflect on it long after it was over.

I'm not entirely sure who I would recommend this film to, but if you are looking for a thought-provoking drama with some great acting, dialogue and story line I would definitely check this movie out. It has received some rave reviews and I believe they are well-deserved.