Gerry

Dir: Gus Van Sant

2002

*

In the credits of Gus Van Sant's 2002 film Gerry, it states that the story/script were co-written by the film's only actors Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. This isn't really the case, the truth is that the film was improvised and really written in the classic sense. I'm all for this type of film making, I believe non-narrative film making is the way forward but, it has to be done well. Gerry isn't a great film. Its only redeeming feature is the stunning backdrops and Gus Van Sant's long-shots (influenced heavily by his love of Béla Tarr films). The lack of script didn't bother me, the long takes didn't bother me and the lack of real story didn't bother me. What bothered me was the little improvised dialogue there was, the terrible acting, the frustrating lack of believability in what should have been (and tried to be) a neo-realistic drama, the lack of understanding that you can only shoot certain scenes once before they get tired and all meaning gets lost. Continuous repetition doesn't evoke thought or creativity, quite the opposite, it dulls the mind. I'm not going to go as far as to say that Gerry is the emperor's new clothes, I don't think anyone is trying to pull a fast one here, I just don't think there is anything here of any substance. Maybe, just maybe, with slightly shorter scenes and a much better quality of acting (I like both Damon and Affleck but this is far from their finest hour) it could have resulted in something worthwhile, but as it is it is as vacuous as the desert it is set in. The film is dedicated to Ken Kesey, one of the world’s most interesting creative thinkers, who died the year before the film was released. It's like dedicating the opening of a supermarket to Leonardo da Vinci, utterly ridiculous and rather embarrassing. Brought to you by the man who though remaking Psycho, frame for frame, with Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates was a good idea. Okay, that's a little unfair as he has made a couple of good films, but he's also made some terrible ones, Gerry quite possibly being the worst.