Cyrus

So I had really wanted to see this movie because Marisa Tomei and John C. Riley are two of my favorite actors plus the movie has been getting great reviews. It's an independent dramedy and is in a limited release and I finally got to see it. The movie has grossed about $5 million so far but still has a ways to go to surpass the $7 million budget it took to make.

The movie follows John, a divorced man played by John C. Reily, who meets a woman, Molly played by Marisa Tomei, at a party  and they begin a fast relationship.  He soon finds out that Molly has a 22 year old son, played by Jonah Hill, named Cyrus who still lives at home and he realizes just how attached they are to one another.

The plot of the movie was super genuine and realistic. The characters were complex and the dialogue was real. This plot has been used before but this time it felt more genuine because the characters were realistic and the movie used the subtle humor of everyday situations to play off the emotional aspects of the story.

The camera movements were fast and felt handheld and at first it was little distracting but then as the movie progressed it actually helped to make it feel like you were watching a real life family instead of a scripted group of actors, so I actually ended up enjoying the cinematography. The score and soundtrack were very subtle and placed at the right parts to pick up the pace instead of being a straight silent type of real movie. Basically, the cinematography, editing, and score worked really well to blend the feel of watching real life people while keeping the entertaining aspects you expect when watching a movie.

The best performances in the movie were by far Tomei and Riley. They worked so well with each other and off of each other that you felt attached to this couple on screen and they made them feel like real normal people, instead of idyllic perfect actors and further solidified why they are two of my favorites. Jonah Hill also did a good job, considering his past straight crudely humorous roles. Although, he basically just played the weird creepy semi-humorous versions of his prior characters. I think this was a great segway to more dramatic roles instead of going straight into the deep stuff.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. It was deeply emotional and real without being heavy and dark. It found the humor of everyday life and brought it to life with genuine, flawed, and empathetic characters. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who likes these types of genuine dramedies. "We're kind of having a conversation here." "Well, I'm going to be having some conversations here too sometime tonight" -- Cyrus.