Sideways

this movie really made me realize how wild driving to wine tastings is. paul giamatti is asking to get a dui with this behavior!!! all in all, i really appreciate how grounded this film remained while at the same time indulging itself in fancy editing and the kinds of silly quips which only fictional characters say. it feels gritty without getting bogged down in paul giamatti’s depression. giamatti and haden church bounce off of one another effortlessly. their friendship feels real. their strengths and weaknesses complement each other, and make up the heart of the film. the female characters feel slightly underwritten. I’d love to have more insight into their personalities (especially in the case of sandra oh, which the film underutilizes to an almost criminal extent). their lack of depth makes the central conflict feel shallow as well; payne misses an opportunity to really explore how its two male leads feel about love and relationships by relying too much on shock value and dryly funny comments. nevertheless, i’m glad i saw this movie. giamatti is fantastic in everything he touches, the camerawork is quirky and beautiful at the same time, and the film has something interesting to say about honesty. why do we lie? what does it mean to catch someone we love in a lie? i wish sideways had dug deeper into these questions, but i like how it's made me think about them.