{"id":5717,"date":"2018-07-28T09:23:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T16:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=5717"},"modified":"2018-07-28T09:23:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T16:23:18","slug":"review-dont-worry-he-wont-get-far-on-foot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=5717","title":{"rendered":"Review: DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Loose and unfocused, this Gus Van Sant\/Joaquin Phoenix collaboration will frustrate and bemuse, as the inspiring tale of an unlikely artist unfurls.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Joaquin Phoenix is a beguiling screen presence. I like him in almost everything, but \u201clike\u201d is the wrong word. In the right role, he\u2019s perfect. This is why the announcement that he will be playing The Joker in an upcoming comic book adaptation is so interesting. He\u2019s the most unpredictable actor working today, even if his mannerisms and mumbled speech cadence are becoming all too familiar.<\/p>\n

Phoenix\u2019 prickly on-screen persona is on full display in Gus Van Sant\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Worry, He Won\u2019t Get Far on Foot.\u201d In the film, Phoenix plays late cartoonist John Callahan, who after a crippling car accident at age 21 found his true calling drawing panels for newspapers and magazines. His cartoons exposed a scabrous humor, that was reluctantly embraced by sophisticated readers. The film isn\u2019t a comedy, but it wants to be one, I think, on a dark level. Rather than hearty laughs, we get an exploration of Callahan\u2019s efforts to find sobriety and himself. And for those with experience with addiction issues, the movie is spot-on and essential.<\/p>\n

\"\"But what\u2019s missing is focus on Callahan\u2019s most popular and potentially inspiring attributes. He was an artist that, despite his disability, achieved a high level of success. It\u2019s the \u201cdespite his disability\u201d part of my previous sentence that would give him grist for his \u201cpolitically incorrect\u201d panels. In briefly reading about him, his work was so controversial that one Portland newspaper had to deal with boycotts. While this is hinted at in Van Sant\u2019s film, the artistic work takes a backseat to Callahan\u2019s battle with the bottle. Unfortunately, this aspect of his life is not nearly as interesting as how he channeled his addiction-fueled-aggression into a high art form.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One simple joy in the movie is watching an almost unrecognizable Jonah Hill wax on about the virtues of a step-program for dealing with and managing alcoholism. Hill plays Donnie, Callahan\u2019s sponsor and self-appointed Alcoholic\u2019s Anonymous guru. When Callahan and Donnie are on screen together, their chemistry is natural and authentic. Hill is really good in the role, and this performance is a testament to his evolution from wise-cracking teen to fully-formed actor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But Van Sant veers away from this relationship and gives Callahan a quasi-girlfriend named Annu (Rooney Mara). This forced relationship is like something from outer space. It is as though she was beamed in from another universe, as Van Sant shoots her almost angelically (lit so softly, it is like watching Michael Landon in an episode of \u201cHighway to Heaven\u201d). The strikingly beautiful Mara delivers an odd, detached performance like that of a ghostly presence.<\/p>\n

But what I like best about \u201cDon\u2019t Worry,\u201d aside from Phoenix\u2019 excellent incarnation, is the light almost documentary approach that often marks director Van Sant\u2019s best work. The auteur responsible for mainstream pleasers \u201cGood Will Hunting,\u201d \u201cFinding Forrester,\u201d and \u201cMilk\u201d seems more comfortable when he\u2019s not beholden to studio and producer requirements. And for every indulgent \u201cThe Sea of Trees\u201d we get an \u201cElephant.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Worry\u201d isn\u2019t the best of Van Sant, but there are flashes, which will, for some viewers, be enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joaquin Phoenix and Gus Van Sant collaborate on biopic of unique cartoonist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[577,578,579,241,580,50,581],"class_list":["post-5717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-dont-worry","tag-gus-van-sant","tag-he-wont-get-far-on-foot","tag-joaquin-phoenix","tag-jonah-hill","tag-movie-review","tag-rooney-mara","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}