| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| randall |
Posted - 02/20/2013 : 21:10:26
A serviceable romance especially notable because it was written by Zoe Kazan, who also takes the title role. She plays the girl of Paul Dano's dreams -- literally, in another iteration of the "magic manuscript" device done by Rod Serling fifty years ago, and more recently in Stephen King's wickedly funny "Word Processor of the Gods." It's directed by the team which did LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.
Ruby's as cute as they come, and a middle section when Dano -- who has invented her in glowing detail for his novel -- believes he's lost his mind before establishing that everybody else can see her too, is very nicely handled. It also seems like a tough dramatic situation to conclude satisfactorily, but Kazan cleverly writes herself out of the corner. It stays upright and civil, even when Dano's leering brother suggests that she can be and do anything he writes down: the story doesn't wander down that salacious thread.
Dano is developing into one of our leading dispensers of thirtysomething angst, and though I would love to see something heavier from the very promising scribe Kazan, this first shot is worth the rental. |
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