Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take a second look at this one, March 13, 2004
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.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gerry: The Last Movie, October 20, 2006
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.
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Which Gerry would you be in the desert?, September 13, 2003
...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.
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