Glorious

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2015)

Just a random thought: don't cha' think Rotten Tomatoes should just omit some critic's opinions. There are too many people on their who have no idea what they're talking about. Yes, everyone has their own opinion. But seriously... there are five negative reviews of Spirited Away. I don't think I could soon meet five other people who didn't like Spirited Away. If you want to get riled up, go on their for your favorite movie and click 'rotten reviews.' I do say that while everyone should be allowed to have their opinion, not everyone should be allowed to share it on a grand scale.
I only bring this up because I wondered onto that bloody site while looking for the director of the film. Yes, I don't have any discipline for that. It's also because I need something to vent the anger that pents up in me... but you don't want to hear about that. I do need to control myself. But I do at least get the opportunity to disprove one of the points made against this film by these so-called critics. They said that these characters don't seem 'real.' No you can argue about whether or not that's an accurate observation, but I will instead say why it's a worthless one.
Why are people so obsessed over characters being real. If I wanted to feel reality, I would- oh I don't know- actually go out into reality. Film is not reality. In many ways, that's a good thing. It can be better. It can invoke emotion that you can't see in reality. It can come to allow you to see the world in a different way, an enhanced way. So I'll just leave these no-knowing fools in the dust and talk about why this movie works.
It is of course a film about a dysfunctional American family. That's nothing new. But unlike what idiots seem to think, that's not necessary. Originality is overrated; it is just a tool from which to tell a story. All these characters are types we have seen before. But they are not just played straight, they are deconstructed and gone into deeper. It's what you would get if you put a sitcom into the hands of an experienced psychiatrist.
Some people seem to think that this movie wants to be subversive but isn't. Again; fools. This movie is supposed to be a feel-good movie... just an honest one. It tackles its issues in a real way. There is black comedy in it, but it is not one of those movies that exploits it. It is not 'one of those movies' of any sort. It's a singular movie. It's a movie about coming to terms and marching forward. You do not 'laugh at the characters.' You simply laugh and feel for them.
I really need to stop reading reviews. They get me too angry. But the film is just exceptional. There is nothing standard or subpar about it. The road trip format works perfectly. It is like a passage for the characters from one side of their lives to the others, a purgatory of sorts. Very few films before this have taken advantage of that. The cinematography is just stunning; some of the best I've seen in a comedy film. The soundtrack is likewise and is solemn without being too depressing.
This is not a happy film in the traditional way. But it is a stirring film. You may not rise to every height. And the droning voice telling you to (personified in this film by the father) does not help. But eventually, you come to terms with the fact that you do suffer and that's alright. You come to terms and go onwards. This is not a film about 'loserdom', as one critic put it. This is a film about deciding to face the world despite the fact that it whips you at every corner. That's an important lesson; one that can apply to everyone but is meant more for those who think they have everything figured out when they are really just surrounding themselves with nothingness.
This is exemplified in the exceptional talk that Frank (a man who attempted suicide) has with Dwayne (a Nietzsche-reading teen who has closed himself off to the world) by the sea. Not a speech or a quote or two. Just a talk. There is no moralizing, no weepy confessionalizing. Just a talk. That may mean nothing to people who have no sense of nuance, but it means everything to me. So goes this film.
The screenplay is exceptional, and with it I will segue into my final two points. This film has the sitcom typical family. The sitcoms use it for mass appeal. This film uses it to get inside everyone's head and deconstruct their way of thinking. It's stunning to behold. Every line is delivered with truth. Not grandiose delusions or pandering garbage or the dull cynicism that people my age seem to think is the truth. But truth; as in they know what they say means something and they know it. Though Abigail Breslin steals the show, everyone delivers great performances.
And my last point. I say, with my mother, whom I watched this film with, as evidence, is that you will like these characters more at the end than you did at the beginning. You've been on a journey with them and it shows.
This is the greatest film of 2006. Period.