A Matter of Experience

Rating: 9/10 (3 November 2010)

I reckon this has to be a polarizing film, seeing how Wright chooses to make sure there is very little middle ground to tread on. But, hey, I love polarizing films as long as I'm on the right side of polarization.
Rarely have I enjoyed a film experience so much as I enjoyed this one, thanks mainly to the excellent blend of fantasy, adventure and...realism. It covers the essential basis of tangency and then takes you through a fantastic journey of self-discovery and bemused romance. Particularly if you're transitioning from teenage-hood to adulthood, when the "real world" starts catching up with you really fast, this is something that allows you to take your mind off things, to find refuge in a faithfully familiar place.
The story of Scott Pilgrim, our oh-so-subtly named protagonist (like so many other characters, actually), describes a fairly restless and isolated guy, who happens to fall in love with the girl of his dreams. Literally, as she turns out to be very much alive and kicking. Yet, everything about her is dreamlike, from the snow melting under her roller blades to her eccentric way of being and becoming. As with every fantasy world, there are a few obstacles involved in conquering the fair lady, in this case manifested through the presence of seven evil exes that need to be defeated. So Scott has to get through this series of challenges in arcade style match-ups, as if it were that simple to get what you've always dreamed of. Can't say though that the thought never crossed my mind.
The film's comic sense is sometimes ridiculous, but it always seemed fulfilling. Regarding the actors, Michael Cera is enjoyable, even though I'd say Kieran Culkin was the more delightful actor to watch - or Ellen Wong, who portrayed her character in a virtuous Japanese anime style. Clearly however, a dreamlike central figure like Mary Elizabeth Winstead was essential to the well-being of Scott Pilgrim and I reckon she was an excellent choice, even without needing to do too much to affirm herself.
Ultimately the film captures the spirit it is trying to convey so very well, that spirit of a naive and noisy youth, filled with cultural and pseudo-cultural pillars of reference. If you can resonate with this (as I assume anyone who still has some vague memory of teenage years can), with all that is implied by the bizarre and childish world it creates, then this has to be an experience worth trying out.