Be’Side’ one’s self
Miles is a lonely man, who is lazy and bordering on ‘loser’ status. His friend Jack has everything Miles doesn’t, but looks for good times instead of solid ground. When Miles takes Jack to Northern California for a week of relaxing, golfing and especially drinking wine, things get a bit truthful. Jack is set to get married in a week, but he wishes to use this week with Miles for debauchery and wild-times. Miles prefers to just have a relaxing week of spending time sorting out his life, his novel and how he can begin to move on beyond his divorce from his wife (whom he cheated on). Along the way, their very different directions end up meeting and eventually crashing into each other. What comes out of it could be life changing for the pair.
The first time I saw this movie I really didn’t get it. I felt like Miles was just a depressing character (which he is) and Jack was just an awful a-hole (which he is), but what confused me is how they stayed together. The second time around, Sideways was a bit clearer. Miles is a man who has really hit the crossroads of his life and wanted to get away from making a decision on which way he should go. He basically has two choices, he could either continue on the path to becoming a loser, not forgetting the wife he had and the rejection of his novel. If he goes the other way, he could forget about his failed marriage, his failed novel and move forward to bigger and better things. His life is stuck and he can’t add or subtract anything in his life without making a solid decision on which way he wants to go first. Jack is in a similar position, just the complete opposite of his friend. Jack doesn’t want to settle for anything, doesn’t want to leave the single life, but is stuck at a crossroads at doing what he wants, or doing what he should be doing (which is getting married). These two characters are incredibly well-written and acted, and deep. They play off each other perfectly, like competing personalities, and while they might repel the other, it eventually ends up right.
The acting from Paul Giamatti was nothing short of brilliant. He plays the part of the hurt, soulless man brilliantly. He looks, sorry Mr. Giamatti, like the perfect loser. He reacts like someone hurt and stuck would react and he vents like a person who is exhausted from the pressure and punishment of life would vent. He’s the best they could have cast for this part. As for Thomas Haden Church, he’ll always been on Wings for me, but he broke that mold in my mind when him and Sandra Oh were doing it and as an audience member you realize that this guy has some issues. Church played his part just as good as Giamatti and his delivery (even his expressions) were dead-on this character. The acting, to say the least, was top-notch.
Outside of the story, or the depth of the characters, this movie also introduces you to the wonderful metaphor of how wine is life. Miles has his brand of wine which represents his personality, and what he strives to be. Jack’s wine taste represents him perfectly as well, as he has no particular, sophisticated wine taste, he just drinks what life gives him (and he doesn’t pin himself down to one particular wine). As you delve into this metaphor with the characters, you also get to know wine very well. That’s the aftermath to this entire deep story, you get to know everything you’ve ever wanted to know about wine. Hell, you might even be inclined to actually drink it.
Fantastic movie, with a very good story.
No Blu wine?
The shots of northern California and the vineyards is breathtaking on an HD format. Blu-ray really makes the picture shine, as does the fantastic cinematography of Phedon Papamichael. Excellent choices for scenes, which react so vivid and brilliantly in HD. As for the audio, while it’s completely unnecessary, you get it coming to you in 5.1 DTS-HD. It doesn’t hurt the experience, but unlike an action film it really doesn’t add that much either. Just sounds good.
As for features, here’s what to expect:
– Commentary by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church
– Seven Deleted Scenes
– Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
I really did expect just a bit more in the features section. Not that the featurette and the commentary wasn’t good (commentary is the best on here), but the deleted scenes didn’t hold up very well. I wish a bit more was done, especially since the amount of nominations the film got were impressive. You gotta give more love to these types of films. Just a bit more.