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“Running with Scissors”
Oct. 20, 2006
Tristar Pictures
***
Based on the memoirs of Augusten Burroughs, “Running with Scissors” throws a talented cast into a teen angst film. Despite many neurotic and crazy characters, it never rises above that formulaic subgenre.
The movie suffers from a great deal of overacting. Annette Bening in particular takes her character to a whole new level of crazy. In the beginning her character is insane but, in a subtle way, she progresses to the point where she screams and hollers and cries all the time. Whether it is a realistic portrayal of insanity or not, she was certainly going head-to-head with her therapist Dr. Finch, played by Brian Cox, to try and see who could take their moments of overacting the farthest. Cox and Bening are playing characters that are supposed to be crazy, so when they crank it up to 11, they either take it to a great point comedically, or a dramatic point that falls flat and comes off as ridiculous.
Other performances worth noting are Joseph Fiennes as Burroughs’ schizophrenic gay lover, Gwyneth Paltrow and Evan Rachel Wood as Finch’s daughters, Jill Clayburgh as Finch’s wife, and of course Joseph Cross as Burroughs himself. One disappointing fact is that Patrick Wilson, of “Hard Candy” and “Little Children” fame, appears somewhere in the movie, but has such a small and unmemorable role that he seems wasted as Michael Shepard.
With such a large cast, it is hard for many characters to find their place and purpose in the story. Gabrielle Union’s character Dorothy, though more memorable than Wilson’s Shepard, only sees about five minutes of screen time, and never becomes fully developed. Though her role in the story is clear, so little time is given to her that she is easily forgettable when the movie concludes. It seems a shame that more time was not devoted to the smaller characters that could have brought new and creative ideas.
Coming of age stories have become a dime a dozen, and while this one is done well, it does not go above and beyond. Writer-director Ryan Murphy’s film debut is unfortunately a dud. With his previous work on the daring FX show “Nip/Tuck,” my expectations were higher. Though he does capture the feel of the ’70s well, it does not take a great director to do that, and Murphy proves it. By simply placing some ’70s music, having Burroughs and one of Finch’s daughters do some disco dance moves, and giving Joseph Fiennes a handlebar mustache, he sets the scene adequately enough.
The film is not a complete loss, as it does find a bit of humor and some good performances. The characters created are interesting, but it does not take them to a point where their fates seem important, save for Burroughs himself, even though most already know how his story turns out.
Bangor Daily News