GERRY
Released: February 14, 2003
Gus Van Sant is not afraid to follow up a big Hollywood movie with a low budget indie production and "Gerry" is definitely unlike any movie I've ever seen before. Some directors, like Steven Soderbergh, will do something as commercially appealing and popular as "Ocean's Eleven" - then follow it up with something as commercially unappealing as "Solaris". Van Sant has done the same 180 degree turn here as well. Sure to incite anger from casual moviegoers expecting the "new Matt Damon movie", "Gerry" is a 103 minute long movie that has virtually no dialogue. And the only two characters on screen are Matt Damon and Casey Affleck - both named Gerry. The movie opens with a wordless scene featuring the two Gerrys driving in the desert until they stop at a rest area. Finally around ten minutes in we are witness to the first dialogue between the two Gerrys. They embark on foot down a wilderness trail where they anticipate finding "the thing". We never find out what that "thing" is because the pair end up getting lost before finding it. The next 90 or so minutes is a nearly dialogue free collection of scenes showing the two guys trying to find their way back to the car. The beauty of a film like "Gerry" is that its minimalism is the silent third character. Blended in with the environment and weather, the two Gerrys are faced with thirst and starvation. The ending is shocking, especially in context of the location where it occurs. This is not a film for everyone. In fact, over half of the people in the theatre abandoned the screening by the halfway point. Whole groups of people left the theatre at one time, unable to endure this movie. Don't go to "Gerry" expecting "The Bourne Identity" or "Good Will Hunting". This is not that kind of movie. The amazing acting from Damon and Affleck would be difficult for an actor to carry off but these guys did it. Damon really demonstrates his skills near the end in a wordless scene that relies solely on his face and body language. Van Sant deserves credit for even considering a project like this. Will you be able to appreciate it, however? That is the question...
103 Minutes
My Cactus/ThinkFilm Inc.