review by rot
Margaret 2011
Watched Jul 03, 2012
rot’s review:
So this film was shelved for five years, went through all sorts of litigation requiring the director to edit it down to a reasonable runtime considering I guess the amount of serious talent involved (Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo)and some far-fetched hope by investors that this maudlin drama would make money somehow... What remains is an unfinished masterpiece that feels like a mini-series condensed into two and a half hours, with awkward cuts and a push-pull pacing that makes it all the more miraculous how captivating the final product actually turns out.
Matt Gamble called me out on the Cinecast saying I would eat this shit up... And for the most part he is right. When it works, it is unflinching drama that hits at that precarious teenage moment in life when hormones and idealism overwhelm, particularly impressive in its depiction of the mother/daughter relationship. As writer/director, Kenneth Lonergan is Lena Dunhamesque in his approach to uninhibited character interactions that somehow feel bigger than life and authentic at the same time. It is messy, and some scenes go on longer than you would expect, and sometimes everything is working perfectly and it is like the film has just hit a level of genius that only films this far off the path ever discover. The experience is kind of exhilariting, irrespective of the primary layer of narrative, just to see this near-train wreck pull out all the stops and find remarkable moments of seeming improvisation that are more real than the majority of films that come out every year. Storywise, Margaret does not always hit its mark, everything from the meaning of the title to the use of macro-micro 9/11 comparisons feel trite, even if they are associations coming from teenagers who, as one character calls out in an awesome scene, are all too willing to make everything dramatically about them.
I would like to see the director's cut of this, the messier the better; this is a film I enjoy more as vignettes than as something building towards an arc.
Eat the bullshit up, rot. EAT IT!!!
Next up is Halfyard. While I expect you to enjoy this kind of crap if he likes it I shall mock him without mercy for eternity.
Consensus view is I am right. When the director's cut comes out, the 3+ hour version, I expect you will revisit this and admit you're wrong on the Cinecast. Do you like any of Lena Dunham's work? I find this very similar.
I agree with you Rot. Do you really think we'll see a director's cut released though? I can only hope! But I'm not even sure if the version we saw will be released.
According to this, yeah: blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/fuck-yeah-kenneth-lonergans-margaret-arrives-on-dvd-blu-ray-this-summer-complete-with-new-directors-cut-20120515#.T_XVdBfwtA0
Sounds like both versions. Will need to buy and then lend to Kurt so he can gush all over it.
This cut is definitely a mess, but a mess that worked for me and I think a lot of that has to do with Paquin; she sucked me right in with her performance and was able to forgive some of the more egregious editing and pacing issues. I can't wait to re-watch the DC on Blu when it finally shows up around here.
the scene with her and Kieran Culkin, there be some acting.
She is awesome in this, Mark Ruffalo is awesome in this, and I hope there is more of him in the director's cut. The whole Matt Damon part felt entirely extraneous, and wedged in there only, I suspect, because that kind of star power would never be allowed to go to the cutting room floor.
Paquin is so bad in this it is laughable. She's playing the same character she does in Tru Blood, yet in that show the performance is considered camp yet because Margaret takes itself seriously it is now high art. But hey, consensus says its good, and everyone knows there is no better and accurate method of discerning quality than the opinion of the masses.
I've never seen Tru Blood, so I'll have to take your word for that, but I thought she did really well here as the confused, but self-righteous and opinionated teenager. Very convincing and appropriate for the material presented.
Paquin has won an oscar. Case closed.
But seriously, she is great in this, she is annoying, but by design.
Damn it, the extended cut is only in standard definition. Oh well, better than not having it at all: bluray.highdefdigest.com/7078/margaret.html
Yay! The wait is over...would've liked Hi def for the extended version though.
That sucks. I am planning on rewatching You Can Count on Me this week, the Margaret extended cut next week.
Saw this for the second time in theatres today and my problems on my first watch were basically all cleared up. Absolutely loved this film and can't wait to check out the extended cut. Not as conventionally brilliant as You Can Count on Me, but much more ambitious.
I just hope this doesn't end Lonergan's directorial career.