day 10 - Sideways

OK film fans, it's Sunday night and for me it's always the most introspective night of the week. The prospects of a new week are stretched out before you and last week's tribulations are but precedents. With this in mind I will reach back a few years to one of my favorite movies of the last decade and a wellspring of introspective thought.

Sideways is the flawless tale of a middle-aged man in the grips of a crisis. Not so much a mid-life crisis as it is an emotional one. Miles (Paul Giamatti) is a depressed middle school English teacher who appears to be crumbling under the weight of a failed marriage, a failing hope to be a published novelist and the realization that, in Miles own words, "If a woman finds out how I live, that I'm not a published author, that I'm a liar, essentially, any interest she has is gonna evaporate real quick. If you don't have money at my age you're not even in the game anymore. You're just a pasture animal waiting for the abattoir." He shores up his strength to carry on thanks to his interest in wine. Miles is an oenophile and while knowledgeable about the subject, it is also a shield to hide his drinking problem.

His best friend, and roommate from his freshman year in college, Jack (Thomas Haden Church), is about to get married. Miles decides they should drive up the coast for a bachelor's week in the California wine country. Miles will be able to indulge his "passion" for wine, while Jack, a semi-successful actor, can indulge his libido. The women they meet are neither sidekicks nor one-dimensional characters, like so many we encounter in male driven films. First we met Maya (Virginia Madsen), a waitress at one of Miles' haunts who is getting her master's degree in horticulture. Miles has been interested in her for some time, but as we see, Miles assumes rejection and failure is a foregone conclusion in spite of his abilities. Stephanie (Sandra Oh) is a pour girl at a winery tasting room and a single mother. Her back-story as a mother is not a passing note and provides a basis for her actions, both out of love and anger. She flirts with Jack, who unflinchingly flirts back. She turns out to be friends with Maya thereby creating our foursome.

The film is without a false note. The directing, editing, cinematography and sound are all sublime and feel reminiscent in tone to 70's films like Five Easy Pieces, Klute and The Goodbye Girl. The script never diverts from its goal and the characters never make a choice that doesn't feel real. Maya may seem to be way out of Miles' league, and in fact she is. But the script handles this Hollywood "standard practice" plot-hole by the description of her failed marriage to a philosophy professor in Santa Barbara. We can understand why a bright, shy, schlub like Miles would appeal to her. With all the superficial man-whore choices made by Jack it's easy to write him off as a one note character, until we see him break down in front of Miles over the loss of his wallet which held his custom made wedding rings. With one scene (actually almost one sentence) of dialogue Jack becomes a three-dimensional, flesh and blood character for whom we suddenly feel pity.

There are many touching moments of both heartache and promise in the film, especially nearing its end. But one scene, for me, created a sense of kinship with Miles. A sense of understanding and empathy that when felt, can make a character in a film or book feel like an old friend. I'll quote the Master here, as his words effortlessly capture the moment. From Roger Ebert's review, "What happens between them all is the stuff of the movie, and must not be revealed here, except to observe that Giamatti and Madsen have a scene that involves some of the gentlest and most heartbreaking dialogue I've heard in a long time. They're talking about wine. He describes for her the qualities of the pinot noir grape that most attract him, and as he mentions its thin skin, its vulnerability, its dislike for being too hot or cold, too wet or dry, she realizes he is describing himself, and that is when she falls in love with him. Women can actually love us for ourselves, bless their hearts, even when we can't love ourselves. She waits until he is finished, and then responds with words so simple and true they will win her an Oscar nomination, if there is justice in the world."

In a rare example of justice in the world of film, Virginia Madsen was nominated for best supporting actress for Sideways. However, being the Oscars, they gave the award to Cate Blanchett for her perplexing portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator. Meh.

There are a lot of parallels between the life of Miles and my own. I too have a womanizing best friend that, while lovable, is a bit rough around the edges. We have divergent, almost conflicting, interests but have been friends since high school where he was one of the first people I met as the new kid. I too have suffered from the type of depression that lingers when a relationship fails and the other person moves on with their life before you've even stopped obsessing about them. And I as well know what it feels like to see your dreams and aspirations going under for what appears to be the last time.

But even if I hadn't shared those connections with the film I know that I would still have been moved by its story. All of us can commiserate in the battle of brushing ourselves off and having hope in a new day.