Grandma – Film Review
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Julia Garner, Lily Tomlin, Judy Greer, Laverne Cox, Sam Elliott and Marcia Gay Harden
Release Date: 11 Dec
When teenager Sage (Garner) discretely announces her pregnancy and scheduled abortion to her distant and unconventional Grandmother, Elle (Tomlin), the two take a trip around town in an attempt to scrounge together the money to pay for the appointment in time.
To raise the money, they take on favours for a variety of people from Elle’s colourful past.
Right from the get go, Grandma has a very bumpy start. Its jumping off point in the beginning is a bit jarring. It feels forced, which causes an immediate worry. The last thing you want when sitting down to watch a movie is that “oh no” moment. “Oh no, this isn’t going to be a smooth ride”. Oddly enough the film I last reviewed, The Perfect Guy, comes to mind.
Without giving anything away, the film begins with a break up scene between Lily Tomlin and Pam Greer. This is introduced with the first of six seemingly unnecessary chapter headings. There’s a lot of exposition crammed into this scene from the get-go, the kind of information that just felt like it could’ve been brought across more subtly.
It was an uneasy first impression that the film made. However, it must be said that it didn’t take long for the film to win me over in its following scenes.
Despite its rough start, Grandma manages to entice its audience very early on in its duration. It is only the writing and directing that begins rough around the edges, however; the performances are excellent.
There’s not a bad thing to say about anyone, although some cameos and brief appearances do leave you wishing to see a bit more. John Cho and Pam Greer would benefit from some added screen-time.
What the film does well is dress down. Everything about it is humdrum and simple. There’s a hint of a kitschy indie vibe but it never comes across as trying too hard to be the indie darling. It is quite dissimilar to, say, Juno, which has a very similar premise.
Part of this is due to the film’s extremely low budget, extreme considering the previous commercial successes its director has had (American Pie, About a Boy), and the name filled cast.
But as well as this, there’s a wonderful sense of normality, of conflicting maturity and principles that feels very real amongst these characters. Happily, this never comes at the price of us questioning anyone’s “alternative” lifestyles or other details that could easily have been used to shock.
The bottom line is, you end up believing that these are real people who judge and look out for each other. The only problem is, you don’t feel like you REALLY get to know them. The film’s setting, taking place over the course of one day, leaves you feeling as though you are only scratching the surface of these characters personalities. You feel as though you get to know them, but not enough to know what gift they’d appreciate for Christmas.
As said, all the performances are excellent, as everyone plays their part very subtly. This greatly assists with the very real, very straight forward and non-showy tone of the film. But if there is any one performance to single out, it would be a neat tie between Julia Garner and Sam Elliott. These are the characters who run the highest risk of a mawkish performance, Elliott in particular.
Garner’s role is that of a sensible and level-headed (but inevitably naive and insecure) teenager. The kind of role that is often prone to cliché. However, Garner plays it casually and convincingly with a performance of deep yet quiet discomfort.
It’s Sam Elliott’s role, though, that really could have gone south. Although his appearance is relatively brief (as are quite a few roles in this film), he plays the part of a sweet but deeply hurt man exceptionally well.
And, just on a quick side note, Marcia Gay Harden is pretty darn great in this flick as well.
Grandma is a film that has received apparent critical acclaim, although ultimately it is simply a very good movie. Sweet, relaxed and with strong drama, it’s a lovely film with great, understated performances, and an interesting story about family, growth and the mistakes we make in taking care of each other.
Score: 4/5
Written by Séamus Hanly
