The Details

Tobey Maguire is a pitch perfect anti-hero in this bizarre, absurd, dark movie about love and raccoons. The movie plays like a demented fairy tale, replete with butterflies, rainbows and cross-bows. The audience I saw it with was in stitches. But this isn't really a comedy. I wouldn't even call it a black comedy. I'd say the movie is more of a magical absurd comedy, if that is even a genre. It plays like a fever dream, swinging wildly between realism and camp. I was surprised about 100 times during the watching of this film, and to tell much more about it would just spoil the fun of it for you. Suffice to say, you will not get what you're expecting. If you want something normal, this isn't it... I will warn that sometimes the movie makes your stomach turn, as you're forced to live in the shoes of a morally suspect character... but I think that was the point. There are no good or bad people in this movie. There are only morally gray people, who behave like raccoons... hungry, horny, needy and desperately seeking worms... I was lucky enough to see it in a recent festival screening. I think it will be really interesting to see how general audiences respond....

This film tells how the seemingly perfect middle class life of a doctor falls apart, after the emergence of raccoons in his garden.

After reading the plot summary, I still did not have a clue what "The Details" was about. After watching it, I can safely say that it is a engaging drama about the unfortunate decay of a suburban middle class family. The plot is very engaging, as we are confronted with a lot of moral dilemmas that are very real and close to viewers. I feel very sorry for Laura Linney's character, even though she is a bit eccentric. The only complain I have is the casting of Tobey McGuire, he is just too baby-face for me to believe he is an accomplished doctor.

It is a pity that "The Details" has a title, that is neither informative nor enticing.

I like actor Tobey Maguire in many other comedies. He aint bad in this one either, but the "jokes" never really become funny. Why waste my time on that? It does start out quite promising though, because at the beginning it really seems to be an intro to a promising story about an out of control neighbour dispute, but somehow in the end it never really takes off. Missed opportunity. Nagging disappointed feeling.

There's scarcely anything than better than a fierce, biting black comedy on a bright, sunny morning and Jacob Aaron Estes' The Details delivers one and then some. Not only does the film give us a wonderful premise with efficient character actors, but it's the way that we dive into these socially and morally complex people that makes it such a wonderfully black experience. Rarely has a film bottled me with so much guilty, unadulterated pleasure and rarely have I liked it so much.

Tobey Maguire, one of my favorite actors, plays Jeff Lang, a doctor in suburbia with a lovely wife, a cute kid, and a Toyota Prius. As a doctor, he lives a moderately enjoyable life, but he feels rather unfulfilled with the lack of pleasure in his life sexually and literally. His wife, Nealy (Elizabeth Banks) rarely is in the proper mood, even when the kid is asleep, so Jeff frequents various pornographic websites to satisfy his typical male urges.

But it's to the extent he goes to satisfy his deeply unsatisfied urges is when The Details takes off and becomes almost fearless. Jeff decides to commit an act of infidelity with a close friend named Rebecca (Kerry Washington). They wind up having sex and it's all downhill from there once her husband Peter (the great Ray Liotta) finds out. Upon discovering the situation, he gives Jeff two possible options on how to keep him quiet about the situation and both are equally dismaying.

The shocking thing is even after this small adventure into cheating, Jeff still isn't completely satisfied and winds up accepting sex from his quirky middle-aged next door neighbor (Laura Linney). While this is all happening, Jeff's other newfound interest is attempting to rid his backyard of raccoons who have been persistently digging up his sod.

The Details brings to light two different things about the masculinity of males that can not be ignored; their quest for sexual pleasure and their desire to accomplish difficult and demanding tasks. The fact that the film explores these deep, inner urges of most males' psychs is a challenge from the writing department and it allows the viewer a deeper, larger motivation for the despicable steps taken by the anti-hero Jeff.

Because Maguire has now completed his odyssey with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man franchise, it's pleasing to see him try out different lines of work to hopefully become known as a character actor, with roles like this and Seabiscuit under his belt. Here, he immerses himself into the deeply complex and ambiguous role of Jeff Lang and his diversity and hidden talents come forth in this black comedy of errors. This film is now available on video on demand and will be in selected theaters on November 2, 2012. Make an effort to see one of the funniest, blackest, and most deliciously subversive comedies in years.

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, and Kerry Washington. Directed by: John Aaron Estes.

The Details is a dark comedy with an incredible cast and good writing. What I really enjoyed was the fact that the filmmakers didn't seem to sugar coat anything and try to deceive you that a perfect family exists, and that people don't struggle with temptation and guilt on everyday basis. It's a greatly exaggerated story of an ordinary man with ordinary problems that get him into an extraordinary mess. Casting is incredible, and all actors deliver great performances. Unfortunately, none of the characters, with the exception of Tobey Maguire's Jeff Lang is truly developed, which could have made that film even better. Some of the scenes seem a little redundant, for example the boat scene at the beginning of the movie, but that doesn't really spoil the movie as a whole. All in all, it's an interesting piece of work. It will probably not inspire you or stay in your memory forever, but it will definitely make you think about your actions, and how quickly things in life can get ugly.