Greenberg (2010, Baumbach)
April 1st 2010 01:38
Greenberg (2010, Baumbach)
Written March 31, 2010
Roger Greenberg writes letters. He writes them to newspapers and various corporations such as Starbucks and Hollywood Pet Taxi. He doesn’t drive. He’s an agoraphobic and somewhat OCD. He’s just gotten out of a mental institution. He is one of the most fascinating screen characters ever created.
Greenberg is written and directed by Noah Baumbach, one of the greatest storytellers working in cinema today and who has turned out consistent work since the early 90s. The story was conceived by Baumbach and the incredible Jennifer Jason Leigh (she also has a small role in the film). Ben Stiller is Roger Greenberg and you’ve never seen Ben Stiller like this before. To quote Roger Ebert, he plays the role no one realized he was born to play. There are so many little things throughout this performance to focus upon. This is a man who is not comfortable within his own skin; he’s awkward, ill-tempered and doesn’t know exactly what type of place the world has for him.
Baumbach has a habit of writing characters that aren’t necessarily likable. This is the debate over Greenberg: many find him atrocious with nothing to grasp onto and others disagree. Greenberg is not an evil person. In fact, for the most part, he is relatable. It’s his treatment of others that lends to this criticism and yes, there are harsh words but it’s never to the point that you feel disgusted to the point that you’d want to leave the theater.
Roger Greenberg was recently released from a mental institution and has come to L.A. to house-sit his brother’s place and care for his dog. Greenberg despises L.A. and misses New York (although his hospitalization took place in Jersey). He meets his brother’s personal assistant, Florence. We as the audience have already met Florence as we glimpsed into her life at the start of the film. Florence is a breath of fresh air as she drives, sweetly murmuring ‘you’re going to let me in? Thank you,” to the cars that can’t hear her; when a car doesn’t let her in later on, she doesn’t succumb to any sort of road rage. She looks out the window as she drives as if she’s witnessing the most precious things on earth, her mouth in a little smile. This is later contrasted by Greenberg’s own reactions when he’s in a car; he’s controlling, critical of the driver, tense and almost scared.
Florence is awkward herself. She’s young and intrigued by Greenberg. Even though he doesn’t treat her all that well and is rather wishy-washy regarding his emotions, she still seeks him out. Florence tells her friend that he’s vulnerable but won’t let himself show it. It’s clear she wants to fix him – to get inside his head. They have awkward sex; it’s the kind of sex reserved to the indie film genre as mainstream films must always portray sexual intimacy as one of the most incredible and perfect things to ever exist. It is films like Greenberg that strip sexuality down to its core and show you that it can be awkward, fumbling, and not very good. Florence backs away from Greenberg at the point anyone would. Except once she does, he wants her back.
Greenberg grasps onto any relationship he can. When he doesn’t want anything to do with Florence, he calls his ex-girlfriend from college. When he finally sees his best friend (Ivan) again, he doesn’t want to let him go even if that would mean a chance at patching things up with his ex-wife. Greenberg asks Ivan what people say about him. He’s told that people feel he can’t laugh at himself. Greenberg doesn’t understand. He attends a party with 20-somethings which proceeds to further alienate him from society; he embarks on bold spur of the moment decision only to back out at the last minute; by the film’s end he’s become an adult at 41 years old, even though he’s self proclamation is to do ‘nothing for a while.’
Many have indicated that Roger Greenberg does not progress through the course of the film. This is an erroneous statement that begs the question: what film were they watching? There a pivotal scene toward the end of the film which reveals exactly how much Greenberg has progressed. This is also a film with a most perfect ending.
Greta Gerwig is incredible as Florence. As many have said, this is not a performance; it is raw naturalistic tendencies. Gerwig could have been plucked off the L.A. streets and inserted into this film without being given a single line to read. She’s not that Hollywood type of beautiful. She doesn’t have a perfect body. These things make her an actress to keep your eye on. Gerwig and Stiller give two of the best performances in modern day cinema.
Greenberg will not be for everyone – it will likely divide audiences and spark debates. Roger Greenberg may not inherently likeable, but he’s by far more interesting and more unique than most characters delivered to us each year. Greenberg is truly a diamond in the rough.
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