Search - All the Real Girls on DVD

Emotions Into Words

mirasreviews | McLean, VA USA | 08/31/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In a small industrial town, Paul (Paul Schneider) has fallen in love with his best friend's sister, Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Noel's brother Tip (Shea Whigham) disapproves of the relationship because he knows Paul's ways with women. Together Tip and Paul acquired a reputation for loving and leaving most of the town's available young women. But now they are both a little older, and Paul has found a woman whom he loves to talk to and listen to. Paul desperately wants his relationship with Noel to be different from his past dalliances. Their romance goes well until a decision that Noel makes drives a wedge between them, leaving Noel at loose ends and Paul distraught and angry."All the Real Girls" is a film that concentrates uniquely on the interrelationships between a small group of people in a town where you may get the feeling that not much goes on outside of interpersonal relationships. The film was written and directed by David Gordon Green. I have to say that I have never seen emotions articulated this clearly in a film. The degree to which these characters tell each other precisely what they are feeling was almost startling until I got used to it. Paul and Noel are two young people in love for the first time and struggling to make their first serious relationship work. What makes them unique is that, instead of being afraid to share their feelings with one another, they constantly tell each other all of their hopes, frustrations, shortcomings, and anything else they might be thinking about. I doubt that this is remotely realistic in any relationship, but it is interesting to watch and wonder if this kind of openness would actually help or hurt a relationship, or make no difference at all. I give the film only 3 stars, though, for a couple of reasons. "All the Real Girls" greatest fault is that there is no chemistry between the two lead actors, and not once was I convinced that the two characters were in love, despite what they were saying. This is a serious flaw because Paul and Noel's relationship is the focal point of the story. The film is also very talky, as you may have inferred. Add to this the fact that the film's pace is unnecessarily languid, and I think that it will not maintain the attention of most moviegoers. I recommend "All the Real Girls" to those who traditionally like talky relationship movies. You might find something unique in this one. But I think that most moviegoers won't enjoy it."

Its strengths ultimately work against it

RMurray847 | Albuquerque, NM United States | 12/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I won't rehash the plot for you, which many previous reviewers have done quite well. To say this is a movie about "young love" doesn't give enough credit to the many layers. We see how this love affair affects not only the couple, but those close to them...friends, parents, previous lovers, etc. It is a tenderly made movie, slow to develop. No one really makes any brilliant speeches that feel like a writer labored over them...yet the people are talking all the time. Their emotions are right there to be understood by any feeling, thinking person. It's a rare thing to feel such EMPATHY for characters. In many of the scenes, we are right there with them. The filmmaker, working with a miniscule budget, has made the choice to let the ambient sounds of this little factory town just kinda wash over most of the scenes. We can almost imagine that we're looking and listening out of a window, eavesdropping on the conversations of others. This makes us realize how often when we observe film, we are being "manipulated" by professionals...ALL THE REAL GIRLS feels real.It's a heady experience, and we draw close to these characters in a way we don't often. I'm not saying that more "Hollywood" movies don't make us care about the characters...it just FEELS a little different here, and that is a kick.Everyone in the movie is excellent...but I especially commend the two women. Patricia Clarkson (so brilliant in FAR FROM HEAVEN) gives another effortless performance here. I believe an Oscar lies in her not too distant future. SHe just needs to be in a movie seen by a few more people. And Zooey Deschanel is capable of being one of our GREAT young actresses. She is attractive in a totally believable way. She has a naturalistic, unself-conscious manner...mixed with some genuine quirkiness. I like her a lot!Towards the end of the movie, the central relationship runs into some MAJOR roadblocks. These are painful, and we are eager for a "Hollywood" resolution. It doesn't come...but neither does an emotional payoff. We see how the characters lives are changed...how they develop in their understands. But somehow, just when we should be feeling it most, the characters suck their emotions into themselves...leaving us, their sympathetic viewers, out in the ocld. So, although I totally admire the movie, the craft, the totally convincing performances...I ended up leaving the movie theater feeling let down. I'm not saying the movie needed a "happy ending" or a "tear-jerker" moment...but it does take the naturalistic approach just a bit too far...it needed just a bit more "plot."By all means take a look at this movie, though. The Razor-sharp dialogue and great acting make it worthwhile."