BrianSez's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

17 Year-old girls can be bratty and overly dramatic as it is, never-mind after they contributed to the tragic death of someone. In Margaret, Anna Paquin is that drama queen. Margaret starts out with an incredibly well done death scene, and deeply impactful dramatic acting as everyone deals with it. Interesting supporting cast are then brought in and out of the film, doing a very good job at rounding out your understanding of the main characters. From the middle of the film onwards, things got a bit overly drawn out, and what was once understandable drama turned in to something more whiny and overly confrontational – even by NYC standards, and the ending seemed a bit abrupt and not so satisfying. Bottom line, this is a very interesting film with some really great dramatic acting, just brace yourself for a long slog through to the end.

Acting - Great 4.0

This was really an outstanding cast, but the star power almost seems inexplicable given the minor nature of some of the roles. Anna Paquin leads the charge with massive drama, and J Smith Cameron is equally as adept. Most of the supporting cast do a very good job, some of the notables:

Matt Damon – a good looking teacher that is influenced too easily
Matthew Broderick – a straight laced teacher
Jean Remo – innocently suave with controversial opinions
Mark Ruffalo – an adequate performance as the ill-fated bus driver
Jeannie Berlin – jumps right in to the dramatic fray as the dead woman’s best friend
Allison Janney – superior performance as a dying woman
Kenneth Lonergan – In addition to writing and directing, he does a decent job as the overly heady divorced dad

Film - Good 3.0

I read that Martin Scorcese had to come in and edit down the overly long film. I don’t think he edited it down enough. Maybe there were just too many stars to give airtime to.

Edge - Risqué 2.0

Reality - Glib 1.6

2 Comments

• Wick Aug 5, 2012 8:25PM

  Regarding Wick’s Review
  I heard that too, Terry Gross talking with Kenneth Lonergan. “You Can Count On Me”, his earlier movie, impressed the hell out of me when it came out pre-ViewGuide, so I was all ears when that interview came up.

• BrianSez Aug 5, 2012 5:33PM

  Regarding Wick’s Review
  I heard about this movie a few weeks ago on an NPR “Fresh Air” segment. Looking forward to seeing this one.

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