Gerry *** (2002, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) – Classic Movie Review 1374

There is no doubt that co-writer/director Gus Van Sant’s 2002 drama has Waiting for Godot on its mind as an inspiration and template.

Two 20something blokes – both called Gerry for no particular reason – go for a hiking stroll in the desert without water or food, and get lost. That’s it for 104 astonishing if excruciating minutes.

This mysterious and difficult but admirable American art movie is brave, intelligent and beautiful to look at. A cult movie in the making, it’s that rare thing – exactly the film its makers (Van Sant, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) wanted it to be, making no concession to its audience (if it has one).

The acting by Damon and Affleck is impeccable, Harry Savides’s cinematography is very striking and director Van Sant’s chutzpah is total. He shoots in a semi-improvised style with a small crew in Argentina, Death Valley and the Utah Salt Flats.

The patience required to watch it is certainly rewarded.

Despite all the hard work and the star names, it took only $236,266 at the American box office, an impressively tiny amount, after costing $3.5 million. But it gained critical acclaim and was chosen by Frances Les Cahiers du cinema as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002.

The film is dedicated to the memory of writer Ken Kesey, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), who died in 2001.

‘Gerry’ is a slang term used throughout the story by both hiking companions, meaning ‘to screw up’. Van Sant revealed that Damon and Affleck used the term before the movie had been named.

The plot links to the real-life story of David Coughlin, who was killed by his friend after the two became lost in Rattlesnake Canyon in in New Mexico in 1999.

Gerry is the first film in Van Sant’s Death Trilogy –  followed by Elephant (2003) and Last Days (2005) – all based on actual events.

http://derekwinnert.com/elephant-2003-dir-gus-van-sant-classic-movie-review-1373/

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1374

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