Sideways
Dir: Alexander Payne USA 2004 124 mins 15A
Starring: Paul
Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Mary Louise Burke,
Jessica Hecht
At the heart of Payne’s movie, which like his last film About Schmidt
takes the format of a road trip, is a glorious performance by Paul Giamatti.
Giamatti, an accomplished character actor who shone as Harvey Pekar in
American Splendor, plays Miles, a would-be novelist with tendencies to a
mid-life crisis and a keen fixation on wine, both as a connoisseur and a drunk.
He paints a vividly engaging portrait of a man suffering from the pain of
divorce, struggling to regain his self-esteem and increasingly convinced that he
has missed the boat. It’s a painfully exposed characterisation and will win
Giamatti glowing reviews and multiple nominations.
Based on the novel by Rex Pickett, the film follows a week-long roadtrip in
which the crumbling Miles takes his old college buddy Jack, a washed-up actor,
on a celebratory trip to the vineyards of northern California’s Santa Ynez
Valley the week before Jack’s wedding.
Soon they're awash in wine, whining, and amorous exploits with the exquisite
Sandra Oh and a revelatory Virginia Madsen - a grand misadventure shot through
with an awareness of their own futility.
From the glittering high school satire of Election to the poignant tale of a retired insurance executive in About Schmidt, director Alexander Payne (aided by co-writer Jim Taylor) has established himself as a great comic chronicler of ordinary American lives. Here, Payne takes the oldest of Hollywood formulas - the buddy picture - and elevates it to a hilarious and insightful portrait of the seemingly clueless male psyche.
Winner -
Best Screenplay / Academy Awards 2005
Winner - Best Motion Picture (Comedy) / Golden Globes 2005
Winner - Best Screenplay / Golden Globes 2005
Winner - Best Feature / IFP New York’s 14th
Annual
Gothams Awards
Winner - Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay / National Board of
Review 2004
Winner - Best Film / Marrakech Film Festival 2004
Winner - One of the top 10 Pictures of 2004 / American Film Institute
Winner - Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress,
Best Supporting Actor / Los Angeles Film Critics Association 2004
Winner - Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Actor /
New York Film Critics Circle