- Actors: Nicola Peltz, Christina Applegate, Billy Crudup, Josh Lucas, Frank Langella
- Director: Joel Moore
- Disc Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: French, English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: April 4, 2017
- Run Time: 99 minutes
Despite a bold
subject matter that I can’t recall seeing addressed in previous films, Youth in Oregon still manages to end up
feeling overly familiar and slightly derivative. Even with the choice to tackle
a controversial topic, much of Youth in
Oregon is by-the-numbers independent filmmaking. All of the usual tropes
are dragged out, from family dysfunction to a revelatory road trip, and none
are nearly as successful as they should be with a cast of this caliber.
The film begins
by introducing us to the dysfunction of the Gleason household, as Brian (Billy
Crudup) and Kate (Christina Applegate) struggle to raise their naïve teenage
daughter (Nicola Peltz) while also adjusting to having Kate’s parents live with
them. 79-year-old Raymond (Frank Langella) is recovering from heart problems,
which has diminished his quality of life and made him something of a stubborn
curmudgeon. Despite the support from his daughter’s family and a loving younger
wife (Mary Kay Place), Raymond decides to euthanize himself upon learning that his
heart condition has worsened.
With no options
in New York, Raymond resolves to travel to Oregon, where it is legal to be
euthanized. Unable to drive himself, Brian is given the task of making the
journey. Kate wants to be the one to drive him, but is preoccupied when their
daughter suddenly demands attention after having her scandalous selfies shared
around school by her inconsiderate jock boyfriend. This storyline just adds
more unnecessary dysfunction to the family, which continues as the road trip
includes stops along the way to pick up two more family members, each with
father issues. Brian insists on stopping to see his son (Alex Shaffer) at
college, only to discover that he has dropped out of school. Raymond also has a
poor relationship with his homosexual son (Josh Lucas), who conveniently lives
a reasonable driving distance from their destination and joins the road trip as
the only one to agree with his father’s choice.
Although the
discussion of chosen death is a topic that could have weighted this film with
relevant dialogue, a majority of the screenplay is instead content to fall into
the typical trappings of family dysfunction and road trip hijinks. Even when
the scenes do tackle the subject at hand, the script never equals the ability
of the performers. Langella is particularly great, but the script doesn’t
develop the character of Raymond nearly enough to match his abilities. And the
ultimate resolution of the topic at hand ends up feeling more like a copout
than the buildup and brave premise promises. Even the tone of the film goes for
crowd pleasing pleasantness rather than honest depictions, and the narrative ends
up being forgettable as a result.
Far from
terrible, Youth in Oregon is mostly a
disappointing waste of potential. If nothing else, this movie proves that
independent filmmaking has become a genre of its own, often just as generic as
studio films. The DVD includes no special features.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 5.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 0/10
No comments:
Post a Comment