Not alright, alright, alright. That was more or less the universal reception to “Sea Of Trees,” Gus Van Sant’s drama starring Matthew McConaughey, Naomi Watts, and Ken Watanabe, when it premiered at Cannes this year. Much anticipated, given its prestigious Competition slot, McConaughey’s recent hot run, and Van Sant’s Palme d’Or-winning track record, the film bowed back in May to a chorus of boos, and has been notably absent from the fall festivals, and the release calendar.
Following McConaughey’s depression-stricken American to Japan’s famous "suicide forest," where he meets a similarly distraught Japanese businessman, our review said that the film “mixes the thrills of ‘Gerry’ with the subtlety of ‘Finding Forrester’ and the originality of the ‘Psycho’ redo,” and that the title was appropriate, because “it makes you feel like you’re drowning, and it’s full of sap.” But the reaction doesn’t seem to have bothered the film’s director and star, because they’ve just reunited.
And on something that’s already been much-mocked: follow-ups to McConaughey’s endlessly-parodied, nonsensical Lincoln ads from last year. Nicholas Winding Refn directed the original batch, but Van Sant’s taken over for a new series, which will air during football on Sunday, but a brief 30 second preview has emerged thanks to The Hollywood Reporter. You can watch below, and trust us when we say that it’s already more rewarding a project than “Sea Of Trees.”
I can\’t comment on Sea of Trees as it never even got a cinema release here in UK 🙁 But, Matthew McConaughey can do no wrong in my eyes. I love that he is choosing some \’lesser Box Office appealing\’ roles and expanding his experience. Ad fir the new ads – I wish he did speak, it is his voice as much as anything that draws me in.
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Tom: great comments. I\’m getting tired of snark which bloggers mistake for wit.
The snarky tone of some indiewire articles as of late is troubling — particularly here when talking about Van Sant who has earned room to experiment and come up short. Gerry is one of my all-time favorite films and packs a real emotional punch if you can settle in and enjoy it. I actually also enjoy Finding Forrester for what it is and if you don\’t understand the concept of appropriation, you probably should avoid discussing Psycho. To take a film about a cross-dressing killer starring a closeted actor and remake it with an out actress being victimized by the ultimate frat star — that\’s interesting, at the very least, and warrants discussion. Even more so when based on a director who said the success of his pictures came from his shots and editing, not acting or other contributions. Here, the shots are nearly identical in many sequences and yet the film feels completely different (and does not work or hold together in the same way). Again, that could be a great discussion if you were willing to engage. But cool commercial, bro.
If you are going to write for a site dedicated (in name) to independent film, you need to approach this with a critical eye and ear, rather than witticisms that lack context or a sense of film history. If of our most daring contemporary filmmakers cannot try and fall short, how can we expect to have independent or art cinema at all? I don\’t know why I so often comment on these things as it seems indiewire has moved on from what it was, but there are still a few writers here that remember and I hope they raise the bar within the organization because many of us still come here because we love truly independent film. You can have your cake and eat it. I buy things and watch HBO too (though the SIX ads for Doll and Em on a single page are a bit much).
I find it hard to believe Sea of Trees is THAT bad. Cannes critics love going overboard on the praise and overboard on the trashing to get hits.
I understand Sea of Trees wa s a failure but I\’m not sure why we\’re throwing Gus Van Sant\’s other work under the bus here
^I\’m with Daniel. Also, the "Psycho" remake WAS original in the sense that a shot-for-shot remake had never been done on that scale before. It was an experimental film dressed up as a studio thriller. Which is a pretty awesome feat if you ask me…
I actually did find Gerry quite thrilling; that was one of the best films of the past 20 years for me.
Johnny Depp\’s attempt to ripoff those so-weird-they\’re-incredibly cool Winding Refn commercials was a monumental fail. This series isn\’t as crazy as the first one, but man is McConaughey hot in this. Very sexy. He needs to stop running away from his hotness in his current roles and embrace his inner and outer sexiest man alive.