Search - Peaches on DVD

An Opposing Viewpoint...In Favor of This Film

Crowjane29 | New England, USA | 12/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"No one should take either of the other two reviews presetly posted for this DVD seriously. Both betray a certain level of political correctness run amuck and failure to understand what this film is trying to achieve. Peaches is a beautifully realised character drama filled with deeply affecting performances. I'm a fairly cynical person, and fairly intolerant of film cliches...though the film vaguely covers territory a few other films touching on some of Peaches' themes cover, I didn't find it cliched or overstated, and I know many people agree with me...they just don't feel a particular need to validate their opinions through blowzy Amazon reviews.



Both other reviewers' snarky descriptions (one filled with laughable pseudoacademic jargon) of the romantic subplot in the film betray their real issue with the film, namely that they disapprove of the onscreen sexuality and of the age disparity of the characters involved. (Perhaps if George Clooney had played Alan there wouldn't have been so much whining on this general subject.) Plenty of viewers I've talked to have had no problem finding Steph's desires, or her frustration at growing up in a town with no perceived future, plausible. It's refreshing that any film these days can address this sort of sexuality without judgment or a presumption of female victimhood. Yes, the affair is doomed to fail, but one understands why these characters were drawn to one another, and what they gained from the experience. (Also, no matter how much you hate any film, posting major plot spoilers is tasteless and crass.)



Nor are are the script or performances melodramatic--in fact they're admirably restrained, and Weaving and MacKenzie do a great job of playing characters across two decades. Compared to much of what passes for character study in mainstream American films, Peaches is a revelation in its depth and lack of hand-wringing over its characters. It's not quite as astonishing as Craig Monahan's first film, The Interview, and not for all tastes, but deserves to be seen more widely than it has been, and deserves a break from the snide mischaracterizations of some reviewers who prefer opacity or imposed moral platitudes."