Don Verdean

Don Verdean Sundance Film Festival Director: Jared Hess Since the sleeper success of 2004's Napoleon Dynamite, Jared and Jerusha Hess have had an interesting track record. Regardless of how their work is received by audiences and critics, they have maintained a cinematic style that is, to say the least, unique. Don Verdean (Sam Rockwell) is a biblical scholar and archaeologist who has built his career on excavating and preserving artifacts from the good book —the film's opening scene features an antiquated documentary in which Verdean tracks down the shears that Delilah used to cut Samson's hair. After his career slows down, he, his Israeli fixer Boaz (Jemaine Clement), and his research assistant Carol (Amy Ryan) agree to a contract with Tony Lazarus (Danny McBride) to track down more artifacts in order to keep his congregation from joining that of Pastor Fontaine (Will Forte), a former Satanist turned Christian. As pressures mount, Verdean begins to compromise his standards in pursuit of "filthy lucre," as Boaz puts it. From an acting perspective, the performances are great. Rockwell and Clement have great comedic chemistry, and Amy Ryan grounds the film with her genuine sincerity. That being said, there is still something indulgent in this film— almost like team Hess has packed it full of inside jokes that only resonate with themselves. It might be time for them to come out and play with the rest of us. –Alex Springer

Huge fan of Sam Rockwell so I was excited to see this flick. He plays the title character a Archaeologist specializing in finding artifacts that prove the Christian faith is real, but under pressure he becomes a con artist and gets over his head keeping the con going.

Danny McBride and Jemaine Clement (of flight of the Concords fame) give the quirky comedy to Rockwell's straight man. Both men give me some laugh out loud moments. While Will Forte who is also in the movie is good for just a few giggles here and there.

The story was actually really cool as it becomes very outrageous when the devoted Christian starts to go a little too far to keep his con going.

It is unfair to compare Don Verdean to Napoleon Dynamite, but I can't help it after finding out the same guy directed both. I'd say Don Verdean had more story and is strengthen by Sam Rockwell's performance with McBride and Clement supporting him. It has the same style of charm that makes all the characters interesting to watch.

Plus it really is good for a few laughs.

Most of the negative reviews you see for "Don Verdean" are the same as the negative reviews for "Gentleman Broncos." It all boils down to one basic idea: "This movie isn't enough like other movies I like." Professional reviewers and users alike miss the boat on these movies because they want them to fit in a neat little package. You'll hear a lot about how they didn't feel the movie worked as a straight comedy, or straight drama, or that mixing biblical jokes with more adolescent jokes doesn't work. They are missing the point. This is not meant to be a single genre, or even really a mix of genres, instead it is an examination of characters, ideas, and themes.

Unlike many other movies, "Don Verdean" (and "Gentleman Broncos," for that matter) is not looking to work as a whole, indeed these movies reject the idea of balance and chemistry as proscribed by mainstream films. Instead, DV is about about the details. Each moment of the movie has been engineered, largely without a thought for the other moments. In the Hess world, if something is interesting that's reason enough to include it, regardless of how it fits together with other pieces.

It's not inherently worse than other films (in fact, you'll see tremendous talent in the film-making, the acting, and the script); it's just a completely different approach. So see "Don Verdean," not because it's more of what you already like (and have) but because it isn't.

Leaving the theater, the general feeling was "meh". Possibly based on Yiddish origin, it's a general shrug of the shoulders meaning neither good nor bad.

The best way to describe this movie is to say it's not funny enough for a comedy, but not serious enough for a drama. Rather than combining words and calling it a dramedy, I'd suggest keeping the same words but flipping the order, calling it a coma. The movie just never seem to get going. If intended as a light- hearted story, the laughs were just too few and far between, even though the premise itself was humorous. Meanwhile, the basic story of a Biblical archaeologist down on his luck was just a bit too silly for a drama. I'm a big fan of Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement, and Danny McBride, but this wasn't a great vehicle for any of them.

It's a shame, because some aspects of the movie were very well done. The cinematography was fantastic, for example. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad movie. It just didn't do much for me. Your mileage may vary.

'Don Verdean' is the newest film from Jared Hess. Director of 'Napoleon Dynamite', 'Nacho Libre', and the upcoming 'Masterminds'. Needless to say, Hess is a wonder child of offbeat comedies that really don't have anything to do with anything. So, when I sat down to watch this film, the story came as a pleasant surprise. 'Don Verdean' seems to be Hess's first foray into legitimate, cinematic storytelling. Unlike his older films that are made to feel like a home video (in a sense) Verdean actually employs some surprisingly good cinematography to help tell its story. It's no Roger Deakins but this film actually looks like some effort was put into shot composition.

We follow Don Verdean (Rockwell) as he sides with a local church to try and hunt down religious artifacts. Artifacts that they believe, if found, will drive people to their church. As Verdean finds artifact after artifact the church he is employed by grows restless for a BIG discovery. Goliath's skull big. Feeling the pressure, Rockwell takes matters into his own hands. A robbed grave later, Don Verdean makes the "discovery" of a life time and his life spirals down from there.

The film still has that unmistakable quirkiness that Hess has built himself on but 'Verdean' proves that he is making strides into making noteworthy films. Aside from the films relatively impressive look the film is definitely a Hess movie. Its got the same unique comedy and ill timed character moments that make his other films classics.

But 'Verdean' has something his other films didn't. An ensemble cast. With Rockwell as the title character, Clement as his companion, and Forte as the films villain this should've been a knock out. But, unfortunately it isn't. It still has the offbeat comedy that many have come to love from Hess but it sacrifices a lot of it in the name of a story line.

There are multiple moments in the film where we get a deadly serious scene that are devoid of humor. Obviously you have to know when to let off the comedy gas pedal but for the first half hour of the film we barely get a laugh or two. It takes to long to actually get into the meat of the story. A story that, in fact, is pretty hilarious and ripe with religious commentary. But it makes the mistake that many first timers do, it takes to dang long to get off and going.

And, like many movies that are set up like this, 'Verdean' ends in a very contrived way. The film is moving a great pace and suddenly it's over. The conclusion comes out of no where and threw me straight out of the film. Like its rocky beginning, 'Verdean' can't seem to figure out how to end in a natural way. It makes the mistake of pushing its characters one way instead letting their personalities take them in a realistic way.

Yet, its story is surprisingly compelling. Living in a state where a church is literally on every corner, I may connect with this film more than others. That being said, I think 'Don Verdean' raises very valid points about what we as human beings believe in and how we jump between what's the most popular at that time. It displays how we seem to be so invested in theatrics that we forget to even think about what is being said. Without spoilers, there is a scene involving a press conference that is particularly effective.

It's nothing that hasn't already been said. But 'Don Verdean' approaches it in such a unique, monotone way that it just works. It makes use (more or less) of its great cast and delivers some hilarious commentary on religion. Its unfortunate that the film sacrifices its best quality in order to artificially build this film. It may not be the Hess film that many expect but it's an impressive stride forward in storytelling for him.