Originally posted on www.passionforcinema.com on September 26, 2009
A very simple take on Away we go would be that it is a testament of Sam Mendes’s love for dysfunctional families. And in fact this take wouldn’t at all be entirely incorrect. American Beauty, Revolutionary Road and now Away We Go. He loves American dystopia.
Away We Go actually is a nice romantic indie with some genuine laughs and smiles. Only if this film had aspired to be ‘nice romantic indie’, it could have been such a great Sunday afternoon watch. But the writers and Mendes seem to have some agendas to drive home and some truths of life to be realized.
At the center of this film is one of the most real, cozy, pragmatic, in-love couple, Burt and Verona, I have ever seen in films. Their fears and insecurities ring very true as they set themselves for a nationwide home-hunting trip. They are determined to find the right place for their daughter who is just 3 months away from arrival into this big bad mean world. They are skeptics of fulfilling social obligations, especially Verona, but at the same time they want their daughter to be raised with aunties, uncles and showered with grandparents’ affection. They are realists, but wish their daughter would grow up in pretty amiable conditions only. There lies in contradictions, but they are quite understandable human contradictions. And actually their thinking and beliefs are not exactly extreme as I make it sound but they are tending towards how I make it sound. On their trip they come across 4 families and at the end of these encounters they realize many truths, which, except one, I failed to realize along with them. The film tries to make them better-equipped-to-take-on-life people.
Sam Mendes’ earlier 2 dystopian movies worked to an extent because they explored dysfunctional families as a stand alone family (as in Revolutionary Road) or as a family amongst other similar screwed up families, may be with different quirks (as in American Beauty). Here, in Away We Go, a very real (without serious quirks) couple is explored by juxtaposing them with dysfunctional couples. And 2 of these couples are, along with being screwed up, bordering lunatics. And when Verona tells Burt ‘Are we the only people happy in love’ after meeting lunatics, sounds unbelievable and out of character. They are shown to be the classy, thoughtful and self-aware couple, and to be even slightly affected by these encounters is ridiculous. Going by their character they should have laughed it out and thanked their stars they are normal, which they actually do immediately after bullying a lunatic couple, but they soon get over it and get serious about it. Really??
Finally after their first 2 experiences, they find an apparently normal happy, well-knit family. Sam Mendes must have asked his writers, “But then what is the fun of exploring a normal family?” As alcohol makes its way in, the facades of the family fade away unearthing the melancholy beneath. Thankfully the film has spared this couple of the quirks and we slowly start identifying with Burt’s rising cynicism towards love and marraige. Their final unplanned encounter is really well handled. The warmth and the love Burt and Verona’s character showed at the start of the film, surfaces again. The last 2 encounters give their characters a very real, identifiable contemplative setup, which the film failed to give till then.
Now let me for some time stop analyzing, and just feel the couple at the focal point of the film. Despite all my blah blah about the film, Burt and Verona come across as fully realized well rounded characters. We as viewers actually know that they are in love sans any hang-ups. They acknowledge and complement each other very honestly and heartily. They are your quintessential loving couple without being quintessential. Does that make any sense??
For people who love reading only the first and last paragraphs, I will sum up my problem at the risk of oversimplifying matters. Before embarking on their journey, Verona asks Burt ‘Are we fuck ups?’ The film then proceeds to make them realize that they aren’t the fuck ups. Agreed, given some benefit of doubt, the film makers’ intentions were noble, but the means of the realization were far from noble. To contrast the couple against a bunch of quirky lunatic screw-ups to make them realize, is a very easy and undignified way of working things out. The wonderful couple of Burt and Verona surely deserved a better inner journey than Away We Go.
Note: As an after thought, I may have completely misread or missed their inner journey. So please feel free to rip off this write-up and enlighten me (No sarcasm intended).
A very simple take on Away we go would be that it is a testament of Sam Mendes’s love for dysfunctional families. And in fact this take wouldn’t at all be entirely incorrect. American Beauty, Revolutionary Road and now Away We Go. He loves American dystopia.
Away We Go actually is a nice romantic indie with some genuine laughs and smiles. Only if this film had aspired to be ‘nice romantic indie’, it could have been such a great Sunday afternoon watch. But the writers and Mendes seem to have some agendas to drive home and some truths of life to be realized.
At the center of this film is one of the most real, cozy, pragmatic, in-love couple, Burt and Verona, I have ever seen in films. Their fears and insecurities ring very true as they set themselves for a nationwide home-hunting trip. They are determined to find the right place for their daughter who is just 3 months away from arrival into this big bad mean world. They are skeptics of fulfilling social obligations, especially Verona, but at the same time they want their daughter to be raised with aunties, uncles and showered with grandparents’ affection. They are realists, but wish their daughter would grow up in pretty amiable conditions only. There lies in contradictions, but they are quite understandable human contradictions. And actually their thinking and beliefs are not exactly extreme as I make it sound but they are tending towards how I make it sound. On their trip they come across 4 families and at the end of these encounters they realize many truths, which, except one, I failed to realize along with them. The film tries to make them better-equipped-to-take-on-life people.
Sam Mendes’ earlier 2 dystopian movies worked to an extent because they explored dysfunctional families as a stand alone family (as in Revolutionary Road) or as a family amongst other similar screwed up families, may be with different quirks (as in American Beauty). Here, in Away We Go, a very real (without serious quirks) couple is explored by juxtaposing them with dysfunctional couples. And 2 of these couples are, along with being screwed up, bordering lunatics. And when Verona tells Burt ‘Are we the only people happy in love’ after meeting lunatics, sounds unbelievable and out of character. They are shown to be the classy, thoughtful and self-aware couple, and to be even slightly affected by these encounters is ridiculous. Going by their character they should have laughed it out and thanked their stars they are normal, which they actually do immediately after bullying a lunatic couple, but they soon get over it and get serious about it. Really??
Finally after their first 2 experiences, they find an apparently normal happy, well-knit family. Sam Mendes must have asked his writers, “But then what is the fun of exploring a normal family?” As alcohol makes its way in, the facades of the family fade away unearthing the melancholy beneath. Thankfully the film has spared this couple of the quirks and we slowly start identifying with Burt’s rising cynicism towards love and marraige. Their final unplanned encounter is really well handled. The warmth and the love Burt and Verona’s character showed at the start of the film, surfaces again. The last 2 encounters give their characters a very real, identifiable contemplative setup, which the film failed to give till then.
Now let me for some time stop analyzing, and just feel the couple at the focal point of the film. Despite all my blah blah about the film, Burt and Verona come across as fully realized well rounded characters. We as viewers actually know that they are in love sans any hang-ups. They acknowledge and complement each other very honestly and heartily. They are your quintessential loving couple without being quintessential. Does that make any sense??
For people who love reading only the first and last paragraphs, I will sum up my problem at the risk of oversimplifying matters. Before embarking on their journey, Verona asks Burt ‘Are we fuck ups?’ The film then proceeds to make them realize that they aren’t the fuck ups. Agreed, given some benefit of doubt, the film makers’ intentions were noble, but the means of the realization were far from noble. To contrast the couple against a bunch of quirky lunatic screw-ups to make them realize, is a very easy and undignified way of working things out. The wonderful couple of Burt and Verona surely deserved a better inner journey than Away We Go.
Note: As an after thought, I may have completely misread or missed their inner journey. So please feel free to rip off this write-up and enlighten me (No sarcasm intended).
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