Customer Reviews

Gerry

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(59)

 

 

I think the fact that so many people gave this movie poor reviews because it moves too slow are really, really missing the point.

The movie was about two guys that have spent their life "barrelling down the highway". They don't ever stop moving or look to see the desert that is passing by their car. Once they leave their car and begin the hike, they cannot stop, even after they are lost and moving aimlessly. At a campfire, their only topic of a conversation is a video game that simulates reality. It takes being lost in the desert, becoming severely dehydrated and exhausted to finally force them to stop and experience the world around them for the first time.

At the same time, the movie takes the viewer through this awakening. We actually experience scenes in which nothing occurs except life - a guy looking around him at the rocks, two figures shuffling through the early-dawn desert. Instead of a movie being a vehicle for a constant stream of entertainment, as virtually every movie made today is, it's something rare in that it celebrates the absence of action, the destination instead of the trip. It's pretty neat that this movie consists of maybe two sheets of dialogue and two guys lost in the desert, and you can discuss or ponder its meaning for days afterward.

So, if you want to see a standard hollywood movie that entertains in the traditional format, then this isn't it. If you are in the mood for something different and rare, then I think this movie is very rewarding if you give it the attention it deserves. I hope this didn't come off as sounding like I want to be a high-brow critic - I don't mean this at all as I'm definitely not. I just really thought that this movie was something special that deserves a second look.

It is perhaps time to address a few of the criticisms levelled at "Gerry."

1. Nothing Happens.

In fact, there is an incredible richness of action. No, I'm not kidding. Every detail, from dialogue, landscape and sound to editing, music and even the opening blue screen is there to help the viewer immerse him/herself in the film. The first line of the movie is "Gerry, the path" which one character says to another, foreshadowing everything that is to follow. The way the characters are composed in the frame to viscerally demonstrate the futility of their march by having the horizon simply not move at all. The long tracking shots, much maligned by many critics as being far too long and without meaning are packed with incident if you are engaged. Which brings me to criticism number 2.

2. There is no point to the movie.

That all depends on your point of view of course. But I was utterly sucked in from the beginning. The metaphor of two men wandering futilely in an indifferent landscape is to a die-hard existentialist what a pint of Guiness is to a parched Irishman. As I watched the two nameless characters (they're not both called Gerry-more on that later) wander, I yearned to join them, for the wanderings of most mortals is not as beautiful as theirs seemed to be, in spite of its tragic end. So what is the point? That we are all wandering around, and all we have to hang on to is each other. Or maybe it's that we live in an uncaring universe and we must hold fast to the boyscout's motto "Be Prepared." Or maybe it's as another reviewer on IMDb said, sometimes we're rock marooned and need a friend to build us a dirt matress. I don't know, but I know that every time I watch the film (and I am compelled to keep watching it), I find more to think about. (I don't wish to preach, but maybe it's simply a matter of rethinking what you expect from a movie. This movie doesn't spoonfeed, but I'm hardpressed to think of another movie that rewards a vigorously engaged viewer. Maybe...Vertigo?"

3. The Acting stinks.

Matt Damon's character wears new khakis because he is a callow young man who thinks it would be cool to go for a hike with his pal. They talk about Wheel of Fortune and conquering Thebes to stave off the terror of being lost, in the dark with zero prospects of help, and no ability to help themselves. Ditto the "mannered" phrases like "Mountain-top Scout-about" and "rock-marooned" and "these animal tracks lead either to water or the mating ground." They are either trying to keep up the macho image of a man in touch with his environment, or else they are trying to keep the other from panicking or both. It is probably also worth noting, that their incompetence is made obvious right from the start. And Matt Damon's character's description of Wheel of Fortune's rules isn't even right. In other words, he doesn't even know the rules of the game. Although the dialogue is said to be improvised, I would argue that it was probably quite well-outlined before production began, because everything that either Matt Damon or Casey Affleck say comments directly on the heart of the matter, even things as mundane as "I almost succumbed, but I turbanned up and I feel better now."

4. Both characters are named Gerry.

A small point, but one that baffles me. I don't think that either of the characters is named Gerry. Based on its usage throughout the film, a "Gerry" would seem to be a wrong move, a blunder or an idiot. It's simply a slang term they both use. They call each other Gerry when the other has done something foolish, like lose his way, or mistaken the rendez-vous point. Otherwise, they call each other "dude."

5. It is impossible to care about the characters.

As you can see, I've given the characters a bit of back-story. I may be wrong in my assumptions. I probably don't see them the way the authors (Affleck, Damon and van Sant) did. However, I believe that the characters are specifically designed to be "everyboys" that any young man can identify with. They are universal archetypes. I feel for them, because I can easily see myself in the same situation. Perhaps not literally, but metaphorically in any case.

6. The characters are stupid.

It is true that it is hard to imagine anyone getting so hopelessly lost in so short a time. Look at your tracks and follow them back to the car. It's a sandy trail after all. However, the whole point is that these characters are out of their element. The fact that vegetation disappears should clue them in to the possibility that they are going the wrong way, that they "Gerried." That they don't doesn't mean that they're stupid or that the film is stupid or that we should feel stupid if none of this bothers us. It means that the two protagonists, like us a lot of the time, are in over their heads.

This is a movie that rewards patience, attention and care of viewing. Repeated viewings are probably a must. This may be a form of torture to some. But for those of you who were infuriated, frustrated or bored by the movie while you were watching it, but couldn't get it out of your heads after the fact, give it another chance.

This is a story about two men ( Matt Damon and Chris Affleck) lost in the desert together.

The key to the movie is it's title "Gerry" and a name seemingly affectionately used between the men implying that each is a loser (to put in a nice way). The truth is they call each other this because they are very, very close relationally but actually carry deep resentments towards one another and have the emotions stuffed.

They make fun of a woman on a game show who makes a stupid error while they themselves are marching into hell unknowingly. Affleck relates his story about coming up 1 horse short on a computer game and has the wherewithall to climb a huge rock but again does not have the cunning to find his own way down.

The movie progresses and you see the infamous crunching, walking scene as the faces give the answers to the thoughts that lie beneath. Affleck knows he is "the Gerry" and Damon realizes that Affleck is "the Gerry". If he had never listened to Affleck he wouldn't be in this mess. This is where he realizes what he has done to himself by allowing Affleck to make decisions. He has befriended a loser and now he is paying the price. The only way to remedy the situation is to get rid of "the Gerry". The moment "the Gerry" is removed salvation appears on the horizon for the survivor, the winner.

The scenes are ethereal and give a true flavor of the great southwest .

The acting is superb by both actors and the camera work is meticulous. This is a wonderful film.

...There is talk of little plot, but it seemed to me that the movie was about man vs. nature on different levels. There's Damon and Affleck's battle against the elements of desert; then there's their battle against human nature. I read a Gus Van Sant interview where he mentioned that the movie could be in part about the masculine/feminine battle within each person, with Damon representing the more aggressive (male) half and Affleck representing the more sensitive (female) half. That makes some sense considering both characters go by the name gerry (a word used in many ways in the film). Battling for survival in the desert, which part of human nature wins?

When I saw the movie there were eight people in the theater, and two walked out 20 minutes into it (they were definitely on a date, so one can only imagine the conversation in the car afterward... "uh thanks. How about I give you a call instead next time..."). The movie was indeed hard to get through, but it had just enough movement to keep me involved. I think it was because we have been programmed by today's movie to have everything hit us over the head, either with music, dialogue or action. My two favorite scenes are: the beautiful opening sequence with the piano and cello and the camera on the hood of the car just showing them driving to the trail, both lost in their thoughts; and when they're walking for like 6-7 minutes and you just see their heads bob and hear their feet crunch... sometimes in unison and sometimes breaking apart. It came at, I think, a crucial time when the survival instinct of each person was starting to take over and Damon began distancing himself from Affleck.

The only reason this movie doesn't get five stars for me, is that you're supposed to believe right away that Damon and Affleck are good friends, yet I could never feel that between them. It made me wonder, why the heck are these two guys even hanging out, let along going for a walk in the desert? Perhaps that was intentional. In a movie like this, everything is left up for debate.

What else can be said? You've got to see this movie to believe it. Unfortunately, a big TV screen won't do the film's cinematography justice. Seeing the huge, wide-open shots in the theater definitely played a part in hypnotizing you. it's one of the more daring movies you'll ever see. If you're tired of action flicks that blitz your senses with techno music and CGI fight scene after fight scene, or are sick of cliche dialogue and storylines, consider Gerry. It was made to slow down your world and try to find meaning where there is hardly any noise or words. It's incredible this movie was financed by someone, but I'm glad it was. It's a movie that starts to make sense days after you've seen it and can process the experience.

This film has an intensity that hangs on you, I can feel it almost tangibly inside of my stomach. It's simplicity, emotional music and long scenes which mostly comprise of just the two characters and the environment makes you the viewer, feel as though you are one of the characters. You are experiencing it, walking along side of them as it were.
The camera movements really generate a feeling of the vast terrain, at one point it rotates fully and completely around the character, taking its time. Through the eye of the camera we are in the center of the landscape and we see how truly overwhelming it is.
It is often quiet but this makes room for us to contemplate what they must be thinking, or what would we be thinking. We are directed into our own internal dialog. It's very psychological. The dialog between the two characters is exactly what you would expect from a couple of guys lost and struggling with physical/emotional meltdowns. It's not showy, it's thought provoking. I was impressed with it's honesty.
We watch them walk, as time passes, they are treading slower and slower, within timeframes that compared to a typical movie would be an eon, but this lends to our experiencing what it would be like to walk that long around the desert. It is quite incredible that such sparse content can exude such an overwhelming physical and emotional reaction from the audience. It is a skillful and powerful production. It takes real talent to make a movie that doesn't need a lot to say a lot.
I thought the scenes near the end, when they are oh so tired and weary, were incredible, the landscape seemed alien, otherworldly - this really gave us a unique outlook on how severely this experience would impact a person, lost beyond our current understanding.
Brilliant, I've watched it twice now, and will watch it again.

Gerry can be either a tedious 1.5 hours, or a magnificent reflection of human struggle. It all depends on what you want out of your movies these days. I think people expect too much from Gerry. This is NOT the glamorous Hollywood fare you're used to, where one may be lost, but they somehow find adventure and excitement and breathtaking danger. While there could have been more struggle, more conflict, and better pacing, the movie does just what it aims to do: portray two guys lost in the desert. This is ALMOST EXACTLY how it would be. I can't say I enjoyed the movie, but I'm glad I watched it. It left an impression on me that most movies can't do anymore.

I believe the two "Gerrys" are one in the same person. Matt Damen's "Gerry" is the stronger of the two personalities. And throughout the movie he is struggling with his weaker "Gerry", played by Casey Affleck. And without giving away too much of the film; in the scene where Casey is sitting on the rock and hullucinating about talking to Matt Damen on how he's figured out how to get out of the desert; he see's Matt Damen walking towards him. I believe this is the part where the stronger "Gerry" (Matt Damen) takes over. And in the end of the film, Matt Damen's "Gerry" puts an end to his weaker personality (Casey Afflicks "Gerry") for good.

There's a scene in this film that must run for 15 minutes. Casey and Matt walk across a salt flat in almost complete darkness, the sun is rising slowly, real time, the image gets brighter and brighter until, at the end of the scene, the guys are still walking, in daylight.

This film makes demands on its viewers and if you're some drone whose idea of intellectual insight is Matrix Revolutions, you're going to be terribly, terribly confused. There is story, there is plot, there are characters. You just have to look for them. For everyone else - viewers with half a brain - this is a minor masterpiece of contemporary American cinema.

I liked the film. This isn't a film for the action lover. It is a study in subtleties. It is up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions. There is much to glean about male friendship and the lack of verbal communication even in the face of survival. Having lived in the desert and understanding "how this could happen" I thought it confusing how they moved from desert to desert (the plant life varied to much to be say the sonoran or mojave) The other thing that bothered me was how 'good' they looked through their ordeal...but this wasn't the point of the film. The point was about relationship and movement deeper and deeper into hopelessness. There was an urgency yet a calmness. Very little drama between the two 'Gerry's'. This is a worthy film, the requires a quiet mind and patience to appreciate the very subtle nuances. Visually this is a work of art. The panoramic views starred and the characters were the subplot. That is just the way the unforgiving desert is.

I bought this DVD because I thought it would be a survival story, showing the emotional turmoil of being lost in the desert. I think it really fails on that account; The two men never seemed to get very angry at each other, or even at their situation, nor did the movie show any elation at finally finding civilization. It was unclear to me if one man died, but if he did the other Gerry sure didn't show much emotion about it.

Another thing I found curious was that their beards didn't seem to grow much for being lost for days in the desert. They did not seem show any desperation for water, either.

The best I can say about this movie is that it does show spectacular desert scenery. One other thing I did appreciate about the movie is that I could do other things while the movie was playing and I wasn't afraid of missing anything. In short, maybe this DVD is best played when one is alone. but doesn't want to feel alone, while they read a magazine or an Amazon.com book.