Old Joy ***

Directed by Kelly Reichardt.
Written by Jonathan Raymond & Kelly Reichardt.
With Daniel London, Will Oldham, Tanya Smith and Robin Rosenberg.
Released 2006. Seen on DVD.

There's several connecting reasons that made me want to watch this film. First off, Will Oldham is in it. He's an indie musician who is also an actor though I had never seen him act before this film. And then, I had seen another film, Lucy and Wendy, by the same director just written about here in this blog about a month ago. And I really enjoyed that film!

The film is a little slower then her previous film. Basically, it's a slice of life film and the story is about two old friends who reunite and decide to go to a hot springs site and camp out over night. There's a lot of talking. The two friends are quite different, though they clearly partied together in their hey day. One friend, Mark, played by London is a more straight and narrow guy liberal new ager who is married and expecting his first baby. The other friend, Kurt, played by Oldham, is a more relaxed roaming type guy who can't settle down and has seen his share of hard times. There's a tension between the two, but they love each other. Nothing bad happens, but by the end of the trip, one wonders if they will ever see each other again. Kurt at the end of the film, is seen lonely wandering about the city of Portland Oregon, where the film takes place.

Some of the scenery and camera work is beautiful. Obviously the scenes in the the mountains and nature are beautiful and lush, but the scenes in the city are also very nicely shot with the buildings in the broken down part of town saturated with color.

And while all they do is talk to each other, the tension is palpable. The actors are good at showing the strain in their relationship. It's very well acted and Oldham lives up to his reputation. They do tend to wax philosophical, while not focusing an any one theme which is entertaining. If there is a theme, it is about people who live in the lower strata of the social hierarchy. In the beginning of the film, there is overheard a radio talk show in which politics is talked about (this is during the end of Bush's first term, when he is seeking re-election) and there is some commentary on the treatment of the working class etc. This theme is explored to its fullest in Reichardt's later and most recent film Wendy and Lucy.

Reichardt has been stringing together some pretty good independent films. I look forward to her next one.



Oh Yeah, it has a great soundtrack by Yo La Tengo. Listen to it again in the trailer.