by The Great White Gypsy

My second day of the SIFF took me to Seattle’s University District for a showing of Mark and Jay Duplass’s first major film, Cyrus at the old school Neptune Theater.

I had mixed feelings going into this film. I was really excited that the Duplass Bros. were branching outward and upward in the industry, but I was also hesitantly skeptical. How many times in every art industry has an artist sold out and watered down their craft as soon as they get a bigger budget? Not only did this have the potential to tarnish their already stellar reputation in the Mumblecore community, but with John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill in the cast, it definitely had the potential to be just another generic, retarded comedy like Step Brothers (that movie was horseshit). To my extreme relief, neither of these things happened.

Cyrus starts out like so many Mumblecore films have: with a scene that makes the audience feel like they’re intruding on the characters. I actually feel like giving away even the opening scene would be spoiling something, but suffice to say the intimacy between audience and actor is immediate and forced. John (John C. Reilly) finds out that his ex-wife (it’s been seven years, but it “still stings”) and best friend, Jamie (Catherine Keener in yet another solid supporting role) is getting remarried. Depressed and lonely, he agrees to accompany the couple to a party. After too many vodka-red bulls and failed conversations, he runs into Molly (Marisa Tomei, whose transformation from stripper to MILF is damn impressive) and the two end up sleeping together. After several nights of watching her leave at 4am, John decides to follow Molly home, where he is surprised to meet Cyrus (Jonah Hill), her 21-year-old son who still lives at home. The two men get territorial over Molly, and begin a battle of wits over who will keep her.

The Duplass brothers have done something great here. Their past hits (The Puffy Chair, Baghead) always featured uber-realistic acting from an unprofessional cast, and a handheld digital camera. In Cyrus, they manage to keep their style more or less intact. Shaky camera shots, abrupt zooms, long dialog sound bleeds over silent scenes all seem to keep their indie roots in the ground. But the addition of professional actors adds an amazing element that even hardcore, pretentious indie elitists can’t argue with (there’s a reason they’re “professional” actors). In a word: comfort.

The “forced realism” I sometimes complain about from Mumblecore is gone, and it has been replaced with the kind of realism indie film is all about. John C. Reilly is never over the top in this one. There are a couple times when you almost expect him to go nuts, but he doesn’t. He’s actually just a regular guy with a sense of humor, instead of a sense of humor in a man-suit. His character spent seven years after his divorce in a dark, existential haze before Molly woke him up. He constantly has a determination to bare himself completely, but also an underlying, self-preserving suspicion of everyone’s motives. Jonah Hill is, at times, freaking unnerving as the son who won’t leave the nest. It’s really, really funny, but there’s also a barely-noticeable hint of comic inappropriateness that usually dissolves into an even more comic psychosis. And watching him stare at Reilly while working his synthesizers had the audience ROTFLMAOing. Tomei and Keener definitely brought the reins to the film, evenly playing the middle ground of sanity throughout.

It isn’t very often that unlikely elements come together so…perfectly. The Duplass Brothers know realism, and they stick to it like glue. Even with a big name cast, and the backing of producers Ridley and Tony Scott, they have officially built the bridge between Mumblecore and mainstream film. Anyone who sees this film expecting Superbad or Step Brothers will most likely be disappointed Equally, anyone going in expecting The Puffy Chair might be disappointed. But if you are a fan of indie film, real characters, talented directors, and relatable stories that make you laugh your ass off, you’re gonna love this one.

FINAL GRADE: A-

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