SXSW Review: “Leaves Of Grass”
Turns out twice as much Edward Norton isn’t twice as much fun. Tim Blake Nelson’s — yes, that weird guy from The Incredible Hulk and O Brother, Where Art Thou – Indie film based on Walt Whitman poetry, Jews in Oklahoma, weed and crossbows is a somewhat enjoyable ride, but also a somewhat disjointed one. Ironically, digesting a movie about twins often felt like watching two movies at once. On one hand, you had the quirky romantic comedy with Keri Russell. On the other, you had a hick murder rampage that felt like it was straight out of the Rodriguez-Tarantino playbook.
Both the production value and writing were a little rocky. Leaves of Grass often couldn’t even be saved by either Norton or the cutting room floor. Many scenes ran long, as if Nelson was too enamored with his star to cut him off. Or maybe he was too enamored with his script? Either way, the film could have been much tighter, smoother in the hands of a more polished filmmaker.
Speaking of Norton, he’s the film’s biggest strength. Strangely enough, he was at his best when playing Brady Kincaid, the redneck weed genius, not his twin Bill Kincaid, an East Coast intellectual whose personality is much closer to Norton’s real-life one. Duality seems to be a theme with Norton (Primal Fear, Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk). That was noted in the SXSW Q & A (moderated by Harry Knowles) featuring him and Nelson after the showing, its American premiere. Nonetheless, Norton wasn’t as good as recent two-timers Nicolas Cage (Adaptation) and Sam Rockwell (Moon).
Strong supporting performances by Nelson, Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and Josh Pais — who kills it as a wacky orthodontist — also add to the film’s charm.
Overall, my opinion of the film is split; I loved Norton’s Brady and a lot of the humor and violence, but the rest of the film seemed to drag. I guess my split decision is appropriate given that the film was about twins.
