Can't remember the last time I did a
movie review (well, it would have been last month or so when I saw
Total Recall, which I can't... totally recall).
So, it's time for another. This time, a
little film called Ruby Sparks.
Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is a
young writer who's suffering from writer's block. Under direction
from his psychiatrist, Dr. Rosenthal (Elliot Gould), Calvin writes a
short story, only instead of being about his dog, like he was
supposed to, it ended up being about his dream girl, a girl by the
name of Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). Ruby actually comes to life, through
means unknown, and Calvin loves the idea of having his dream girl
become literal. At first...
(Spoiler warning, I will go into heavy
detail about the final act).
I'll cut to the chase: I loved this
movie. When I left the cinema, I left feeling like I had seen
something wonderful and magical.
A lot of this is going to go into the
philosophical aspects of the story and finale, so I want to go over
the characters first.
I'll start with the supporting
characters, since a lot of them don't get a great deal of screen
time, but what little they do get, they make the most out of.
Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas
play Calvin's mother, Gertrude, and her boyfriend, Mort, and both are
just a hoot, but especially Banderas. He's just so relaxed and
easygoing, you can be yourself around the guy and he won't judge you.
He's forgiving and inviting and it's one of the best uses of a
supporting character in recent history.
And Elliot Gould, oh, I love this guy.
I wish he'd get bigger roles these days, but even for the... what is
it, 10 minutes he's on screen, I was still overjoyed. He's still as
witty as ever.
But it's the two leads that sell this
movie. Paul Dano is relateable and it's fantastic to see him in a
leading role (his best known roles to this point are arguably Little
Miss Sunshine, directed by the same team who directed this gem, and
There Will Be Blood). As emotional as his creation gets, he matches
it with the appropriate response, but even when coming off as distant
or even controlling, he's still sympathetic.
But the biggest applause must be held
for Zoe Kazan, who runs the gamut of emotions. Whatever Calvin writes
her to do, she does, and Zoe is able to pull off each transition
brilliantly. She's able to invoke a reaction from the audience
regardless of mood swing.
The ending, however, is where I give
the film its biggest compliments. So, for the next few paragraphs,
spoilers will arise.
Calvin eventually tells Ruby that she
is a product of his mind, and demonstrates it through a series of
sentences that Ruby then enacts right in front of him. He decides to
free her from being her creation and let her live her own life.
The ending just unfolds so beautifully.
From the music reaching a crescendo right along side Ruby's acting
out of Calvin's commands to the performances of Dano and Karzan, the
ending just has so much to love.
Thematically, there are so many
moments of fridge brilliance to behold.
Throughout the movie, Calvin has been
trying to control Ruby, by writing in new “canon” for her
character, relating to their relationship. By freeing her at the end,
he is, in his own way, creating a “death of the author” concept.
Now that Ruby is a part of the world, she has a life of her own. No
matter what Calvin intended, he has no say in her personality any
more. She is to be interpreted for herself as she is, not how he
wants her to be seen.
At the same time, she is still a
reflection on himself, before he “releases” her. One of the
commands he issues through his typewriter is that Ruby bark like a
dog, while another has her repeatedly claim “You're a genius. I'll
love you forever”. Not only does this scene reach the emotional
zenith for Dano and Karzan (with the way she was saying it, looking
like she was about to cry, I actually wanted to scream at Calvin
“Enough! You're hurting her, can't you see that?!” and it was at
this point that I knew I loved this movie), but it's a callback to an
earlier theme, of Calvin hating to be called a genius. By debasing
her, he is debasing himself. He is using those words to confront his
own insecurities and flaws.
The whole movie is just a beautiful
experience. Even the little things to think about, like despite the
fact that Calvin pretty much controlled Ruby, he still gave her the
initial spark of independence to begin with. He could have written
her as being some submissive bimbo who has literally no mind of her
own, or a robot used purely for sexual urges, but he didn't. So right
from the start, he viewed her with love and respect, much like an
author who treats their novels as something special, and not just
something to squeeze out for quick cash.
Combine this with themes like the idea
of images, and people in love with ideas of other people (quite
literal in this case, another reason I love this film) and you have a
film experience like none other. I highly recommend this to anyone
looking for something special. Such an emotional impact this film
left on me. 4.5/5
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