Whether it is us or one of the many people we know, it is hard for anyone to say they have never been around someone who has gotten far too drunk; someone that should have been cut off sooner than they were. The mess that results can often times be humorous, while other times it can become a concern. And if it is something that starts to control your life, then it has become a sickness.
This is the subject of the film Smashed, the story of an alcoholic first grade teacher named Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Married to Charlie (Aaron Paul), Kate has grown up in a world of drinkers; her friends, her family, even strangers she has only just met all seem to live the same lifestyle as she does. But reality sets in when Kate gets to the limits of lying to the children in her class and waking up underneath a highway. Kate has a problem and it is affecting her life and those around her dramatically.
Deciding she needs to make a change, Kate finds her way to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting through one of her co-workers, Dave (Nick Offerman). Finding she starts to like getting her life together an being sober, Kate continues on with AA through the support of Dave and her sponsor, Jenny (Octavia Spencer). The support she lacks is that of her husband, Charlie, who continues to drink and causes a struggle for Kate in her everyday living. With struggles in her home and work life, Kate realizes that becoming sober and stopping her urge to drink isn't even the strongest challenge in her life. The biggest struggle is mending and holding relationships with the people around her and finding a way to be an honest and good person in her own life.
As I mentioned earlier, drunken behavior is not something many of us are foreign to, whether it is ourselves or someone we have been around during a crazy night. This is important because it is how we judge many portions of this movie. Both Winstead and Paul have to act through multiple scenes where their character is belligerent. Knowing how a drunk would act, walk, and speak becomes an immediate factor, but it is something that both actors perform brilliantly. And this isn't as simple as being able to stumble around or slur words. Dramatic sequences involving violent arguments in a drunken state become the major conflicts in the film and the at ions and words that are said in these moments are the true colors of these characters. As it is said, what we say and do in our drunkest moments are often times our most honest.
But what is more important is those scenes in which Kate is sober or trying to talk to Charlie about their relationship. The raw emotion and power that Winstead displays is not only realistic and strong, it is some of the most powerful acting we have seen from an actress this year. While Winstead has been seen before in films such as Scott Pilgrim vs, the World, The Thing, Live Free or Die Hard, and Final Destination 3, Smashed is her coming out as a very serious and talented actress. She absolutely blew me away this movie and deserves recognition come award season.
To read the rest (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/smashed/
This is the subject of the film Smashed, the story of an alcoholic first grade teacher named Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Married to Charlie (Aaron Paul), Kate has grown up in a world of drinkers; her friends, her family, even strangers she has only just met all seem to live the same lifestyle as she does. But reality sets in when Kate gets to the limits of lying to the children in her class and waking up underneath a highway. Kate has a problem and it is affecting her life and those around her dramatically.
Deciding she needs to make a change, Kate finds her way to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting through one of her co-workers, Dave (Nick Offerman). Finding she starts to like getting her life together an being sober, Kate continues on with AA through the support of Dave and her sponsor, Jenny (Octavia Spencer). The support she lacks is that of her husband, Charlie, who continues to drink and causes a struggle for Kate in her everyday living. With struggles in her home and work life, Kate realizes that becoming sober and stopping her urge to drink isn't even the strongest challenge in her life. The biggest struggle is mending and holding relationships with the people around her and finding a way to be an honest and good person in her own life.
As I mentioned earlier, drunken behavior is not something many of us are foreign to, whether it is ourselves or someone we have been around during a crazy night. This is important because it is how we judge many portions of this movie. Both Winstead and Paul have to act through multiple scenes where their character is belligerent. Knowing how a drunk would act, walk, and speak becomes an immediate factor, but it is something that both actors perform brilliantly. And this isn't as simple as being able to stumble around or slur words. Dramatic sequences involving violent arguments in a drunken state become the major conflicts in the film and the at ions and words that are said in these moments are the true colors of these characters. As it is said, what we say and do in our drunkest moments are often times our most honest.
But what is more important is those scenes in which Kate is sober or trying to talk to Charlie about their relationship. The raw emotion and power that Winstead displays is not only realistic and strong, it is some of the most powerful acting we have seen from an actress this year. While Winstead has been seen before in films such as Scott Pilgrim vs, the World, The Thing, Live Free or Die Hard, and Final Destination 3, Smashed is her coming out as a very serious and talented actress. She absolutely blew me away this movie and deserves recognition come award season.
To read the rest (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/smashed/