David Gordon Green often seems to be at odds with himself, directing both broad stoner comedies (Pineapple Express, Your Highness, TV’s Eastbound And Down) and intimate, slow-moving human stories (Snow Angels, All The Real Girls). Here, he tries to present the Venn Diagram intersection between the genres, adapting the Icelandic film Either Way and hoping the distinctive Scandinavian sensibilities will translate.
Despite the courage of refusing to compartmentalise, Green’s experiment yields mixed results. The offbeat comedy stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as two roadworkers on a desolate part of the Texan highway left ravaged by wildfire. The setting proves catnip to Green and cinematographer Tim Orr, who not only show the isolation of the bare trees and the jarring colour clash of road-paint on earthy landscapes, but the tragic remnants of shattered lives, represented by lonely hearths and thresholds standing amongst charred remains. The emotive soundtrack featuring Explosions In The Sky also proves mesmerisingly pensive, adding to the action-free artfulness.
As the men discuss love, sex and life, or spend time in silence fishing or just sitting, the naïve immaturity of the clownish characters should lend itself to absurdist humour. Unfortunately, the casting never feels quite right. As the self-righteous but oblivious Alvin, Paul Rudd’s charm and goofiness doesn’t lend itself to the sterner aspects of his character, while Emile Hirsch – so striking in the similarly isolated Into The Wild – exudes too much intelligence for his obnoxious Holden Caulfield-esque Lance to feel natural. Though their seemingly superficial conversations meander nicely through both poetic sensibilities and lowbrow, non-sequitur humour, the inescapable affectedness of the performances lessen the impact of the gently creeping emotion.