Nights and Weekends (2008)
5KNights and Weekends: Directed by Greta Gerwig, Joe Swanberg. With Joe Swanberg, Jay Duplass, Elizabeth Donius, Greta Gerwig. A man and woman must face the tension that builds between them during a long-distance relationship.
“Though Swanbergu0026#39;s previous film u0026quot;LOLu0026quot;, was not the most visually stunning, it was creative, and I found it quite interesting simply because it had something to say about how we relate to one another in this day and age. This film seems to want to say something as well, but the immature, whiny, uninteresting way the characters say it, has started to become a staple of the Mumblecore movement (to see the most blatant example of this, see u0026quot;The Puffy Chairu0026quot;…actually, donu0026#39;t). u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe majority of these films been festival darlings and been fairly well-received by critics. This is mostly due to the fact that many of the films have been able to strip away the traditional Hollywood artifice from their characters and allow them to exhibit some honest behavior, no matter how awkward. However, you get the sense that these middle-class, white, 20-somethings need something to fill their time besides thoughts of their own neuroses and navel-gazing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe allure of these films for many viewers is that the people on screen are u0026quot;just like meu0026quot;, and the situations are u0026quot;just like what happened to me yesterdayu0026quot;. This could be interesting if only there were actually something at stake. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe NY Times review summed it up better than I can, when it stated, u0026quot;The problem with the movie is that James and Mattie exhibit little but shallow, infantile neurosis, with next to no hint of a complex or even legible inner life.u0026quot;”
