Van Sant is the real star

Rating: 7/10 (25 August 2000)

I had a real problem with the sentimentality of this movie. It drips with string-tugging melodrama and amateurish characterizations. The only movies that can get away with such tortured pop psychology were all made by Alfred Hitchcock.
I liked Minnie Driver and Ben Affleck, accent or no (it's hard to tell), and Robin Williams was OK. Matt Damon's character is so depressingly obvious that it's difficult to sit through his journey to self-awareness, and the epiphany scene is just embarrassing.
But I can't say enough about Gus Van Sant and his deceptively transparent direction. Somehow he makes the flat script come alive with just a few touches. Notice how he uses the stationary and panning shots - and how he frames each image to make it vital. This is especially true for the scenes with Driver. I'm not a Van Sant fan, but I think he really lifted this movie up by its wet corners and tried his best to give it life.