“Sideways” (Fox Searchlight)
“Sideways” is a simple film that manages to entertain for the length of its story and then entertains even more in retrospect. The story concerns a road trip made by two thirty-something males prior to one of them getting married. One proves how rotten he really is while the other finds out he is worth salvaging. A simple story but one told with nearly perfect acting and on the spot casting. “Sideways” is a gem of a movie, and like good wine will age well.
Miles (Paul Giamatti) is just coming off a painful divorce. He is numb and feeling totally frustrated by life. He has tried to sell his novel and has a publisher looking at it, but he hasn’t gotten a final answer. He needs to get away and that is what he does with his friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church). They go on a three day road trip through the California wine country to celebrate Jack’s imminent wedding.
While on this trip they run into two ladies who join them for the tour of wineries. Miles’ friend is Maya (Virginia Madsen) and Jack’s friend is Stephanie (Sandra Oh). Maya is a divorcee’ who works as a waitress while Stephanie is a single mother who works as a bartender.
Not a lot happens during the course of the film but that which does happen is totally interesting. All four of the characters pique the interest of the audience, and all four make an impression. Director Alexander Payne knows how to make the ordinary special in a totally disarming way.
The actors themselves are perfectly cast in their roles with Giamatti being the best of the best. Somehow he gets into Miles’ skin and just lives there. There is nothing artificial or contrived about his performance. He just is Miles.
Thomas Haden Church is also good in a less likeable role. For those of you who remember him from “Wings,” this is a total departure. He is a more mature actor these days and a noticeably solid dramatic performer. He doesn’t play anything for the quick laugh but works for the impact of it all, even the humor.
Madsen is an earth mother as Maya and creates a woman with whom we could all fall in love. Oh is sassy and brassy as Stephanie and a powerful presence in the film. Hers is the least defined character in the movie but she gets as much as possible out about her in her few scenes.
The movie is rated R for profanity, nudity and violence.
After you have seen “Sideways,” the more you think about it the more you like it. And the more you think about it, the more you understand it. And the more you think about it the better Giamatti’s performance becomes. It is a movie you will want to see more than once and maybe even more than that.
I scored “Sideways” a straight ahead 8 out of 10.
