Without getting into the gist of the tale and spoiling it for you, Loggerheads, deeply bathed in tenderness and melancholy, begins as three different but carefully layered strands of the same tale. It revolves around adoption, conservative Christianity and homosexuality without ever becoming heavy-handed or melodramatic. Two mothers (birth and adoptive) hit the road to find their long lost gay son and there's so much more. And what a devastatingly beautiful film it is. It explores the longings of the human heart, loss and the will to reach into and beyond oneself. The color green, the turtle theme and the heart-wrenching quests of the characters all tie up together to make this a film truly special and unlike any other. After the final fadeout, I found myself crying as the impact of what I'd seen sank in.
Unquestionably the best film I've seen this year so far. Mother's Day is around the corner and Loggerheads is just perfect for that.
Why is it that Barnes & Noble & Best Buy don't carry this title? I checked Borders and they claimed that it's out of print. It had just been released (about two weeks ago) and Amazon, Overstock, DVDEmpire, and DVDPlanet all don't have it in stock currently. But you can rent it from Netflix and Blockbuster.
Loggerheads (Tim Kirkman, 2005)
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Matt
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm
For some reason, Strand Releasing always, always, always has DVD distribution difficulties. I think their way of getting shipments to retailers involves a little boy and his tricycle.Michael wrote:Why is it that Barnes & Noble & Best Buy don't carry this title? I checked Borders and they claimed that it's out of print. It had just been released (about two weeks ago) and Amazon, Overstock, DVDEmpire, and DVDPlanet all don't have it in stock currently. But you can rent it from Netflix and Blockbuster.
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Grimfarrow
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:35 am
- Location: Hong Kong
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jesus the mexican boi
- Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2004 5:09 am
- Location: South of the Capitol of Texas
Oh, shit. I ran over that kid yesterday. My bad.matt wrote:For some reason, Strand Releasing always, always, always has DVD distribution difficulties. I think their way of getting shipments to retailers involves a little boy and his tricycle.
Aside from that, I liked LOGGERHEADS a lot (thanks, Netflix). Kip Pardue is believable in a role that is subtle, almost underwritten, certainly underplayed. Michael's right: there's no melodrama here, and I think Bonnie Hunt and Tess Harper do an excellent job at keeping everything from veering into STEEL MAGNOLIAS territory, which it easily could have done. There are no cheap shots in the movie; it's filmed with a matter-of-factness that I think plays very well on the small screen. At the same time, it doesn't belabor its central metaphor, the image of return, the need to reconnect. Looking forward to this writer-director's next film.
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Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
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John Cope
- Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:40 pm
- Location: where the simulacrum is true
I know it's a bit late to dig this post up out of retirement but I only just got around to seeing Loggerheads and I was so tremendously moved by it that I had to acknowledge it. I certainly agree with the sentiments expressed above. It's an instant classic, truly great. I only hope it will be discovered by those who would appreciate it sooner rather than later.
The most impressive thing about the picture is its confidence in its strengths. It's remarkably quiet and restrained and, as usual, this only aids the emotional impact. Tim Kirkman respects his audience as thoroughly as he respects his characters, and make no mistake that's a significant achievement. Indeed, I was struck by Kirkman's patience, his willingness to avoid judging or vilifying any of his characters when so many lesser films would have happily done so. Avoiding this snare, and providing his film with such a carefully drawn screenplay, also avoids easy sentimentality or anything easy at all.
It's such a smart script, really, with performances that complement it, that never seek to impose themselves on us. People speak as they would speak about things that are difficult to articulate; that never renders the script overly elusive or self-conscious. When the pieces fall into place about half way through I was amazed because it should have been obvious to me all along yet it was not because my involvement in the lives on screen was total.
I wept through much of this because it was rendered so perfectly and the very real human messiness was never compromised. The compassion flows off the screen.
The most impressive thing about the picture is its confidence in its strengths. It's remarkably quiet and restrained and, as usual, this only aids the emotional impact. Tim Kirkman respects his audience as thoroughly as he respects his characters, and make no mistake that's a significant achievement. Indeed, I was struck by Kirkman's patience, his willingness to avoid judging or vilifying any of his characters when so many lesser films would have happily done so. Avoiding this snare, and providing his film with such a carefully drawn screenplay, also avoids easy sentimentality or anything easy at all.
It's such a smart script, really, with performances that complement it, that never seek to impose themselves on us. People speak as they would speak about things that are difficult to articulate; that never renders the script overly elusive or self-conscious. When the pieces fall into place about half way through I was amazed because it should have been obvious to me all along yet it was not because my involvement in the lives on screen was total.
I wept through much of this because it was rendered so perfectly and the very real human messiness was never compromised. The compassion flows off the screen.