darrelldklein
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e_red21
The source material is a darkly funny, but insightful memoir about a troubled childhood, and mental illness. When his parents divorce, Augusten Burroughs is sent to live with his mother's therapist and eccentric family. The action revolves around Augusten growing up in the house and his crumbling relationship with his mother. The movie, produced, written, and directed by Ryan Murphy, has some excellent performances and moments that ring extremely true. But while certainly not horrible or unwatchable, it does not do the memoir full justice. Murphy's writing and direction tend to under serve the emotional undercurrents and overplay the comedic surface. Resulting is a movie that is stuck between dark comedy and intense drama without a real blending of either. As Augusten's mentally ailing mother Dierdre, Anette Bening nails it. So vivid is both the emotional and physical deterioration of her character, to which Bening adds to her slimly written arc. Also impressive is Jill Claybourgh. She plays Dr. Finch's wife, turning in a remarkably layered performance in a minor role. Evan Rachel wood gives her part equal parts spunk and weight, giving the third stand-out performance. The rest of the cast all range from serviceable (Gwenyth Paltrow in a thankless role) to good (Alec Baldwin). As Augusten himself, Joseph Cross is great, but his character becomes more of a spectator, to which any actor would have trouble working with.If Murphy had just given his vision a bit more development, I think this one really could have been something wonderful - a darkly comic, but deeply felt film about the trouble of growing up amongst dysfunction - you can sense the faithful intent in everything. Instead, crucial emotional scenes get streamlined into montages set to the pop hits of the period -1970's, characters are left underdeveloped, leaving the story to not really go anywhere. It's entertaining enough at the funny parts, and Bening is really excellent, but there's not much else to grasp onto.
indienforeignfilmgirl
I loved this movie! It is incredibly funny in that sarcastic sort of way, yet also has a lot of heart in it. This movie also stays quite true to the book, which is even funnier. The acting is great, especially Anette Benning's portrayal of a drugged out psychotic. It is hard to imagine what Augusten Burroughs went through considering the neglect he experienced as a young teenager. His mother gives custody of him to her psychiatrist who has her convinced that her ex-husband is dangerous and wants to kill her. Augusten has no choice but to live with Dr. Finch and his family, who are an eccentric bunch. He makes friends with the younger daughter and dates a man in his late 30's, as Dr. Finch's psychological beliefs dictate that humans are considered adults at age 13 and can make their own choices. Eventually, he comes to the realization that he wanted a normal life, rules, and a normal mother, not one that craves "toothpaste sandwiches" when she's going crazy.
Chrysanthepop
Murphy adapts Augusten Burroughs's memoir into a movie that is chaotic, insane, erratic and absolutely brilliant. It is a film where the characters are very difficult to like but they remain fascinating and the story grabs the viewer's attention without letting it go. Given that it's an adaptation I don't know how much of it is true but at the same time that makes the viewing better because Murphy has used a lot of imagination and dark humour to balance the intensity. Some of the scenes feel positively surreal. The camera-work is terrific and the editing is equally great. 'Running With Scissors's highlights are clearly its performances, particular those of Annette Bening, Brian Cox and Jill Clayburgh. Bening once again demonstrates (or at least that's how it looks) how easy it is for her to play someone so complicated. Cox isn't new to dark characters and once again he manages to be hateful. Clayburgh is equally fantastic as the 'burned out' housewife. Of the supporting cast Gabrielle Union springs a surprise while Kristin Chenoweth, Alec Baldwin and Joseph Fiennes are wonderful. Gwyneth Paltrow and Evan Rachel Wood are adequate as is Joseph Cross. Arguably, this might not be the movie for everyone as some might deem it to complex but if one is looking to experience something a little less simple but at the same time a rewarding movie experience then 'Running With Scissors' fits the bill.
