Movie Review: Cyrus
John is a divorced guy who spends too much time hanging with his ex-wife and her fiance, he hasn’t moved on from his divorce and is too withdrawn and depressed to get out and meet someone new. John’s ex insists he go to a party with them, where John meets a woman who appears to be the woman of his dreams until he meets up with her son Cyrus.
Cyrus is a quirky independent film that is not an outright comedy but really more of a drama with humor thrown in. This flies in the face of the movie trailer, which gives viewers the impression this is a full out comedy. The three leads, Reilly, Tomei, and Hill are excellent, and I will watch any movie Keener is in, here she, as always, does not disappoint. I do wish the screenplay for Cyrus was better written. Later in the movie things improve writing-wise but early on there seems to be some gratuitous scenes and ideas that are not totally fleshed out. The hand-held camera work is effective, giving the movie goers a feeling of intimacy, although there are some abrupt camera moves that do not seem necessary.
This is a quirky, sweet movie that could have done better with an improved screenplay. If you like quirky, indie films rent Cyrus more for the acting than the storyline.
2010. Directed by Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass. Starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, Catherine Keener, and Matt Walsh.
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