Greenberg

The faster you can look past this as being Ben Stiller's indie project, the faster you will start to enjoy it. When I first saw the trailer for this film I thought thats all this film was going to be, but I came out of Greenberg pleasantly surprised.

I think the thing that rubbed most people wrong about Greenberg is its lack of forward momentum throughout the story. Everything just happens rather uneventfully. But I really feel that this was the filmmaker's intentions. The realistically boring tone of the film makes everything that much more sincere as its happening on screen. If Stiller were doing all of these crazy things with his brother's house and having a steamy affair with his assistant, the role would have been just too much of a caricature to actually care about.

Instead, Greenberg packs some incredibly deep characters who engage in meaningful relationships with one another. A lot of it is the writing of painfully awkward confrontations and dialogue exchanged, but also you have to give credit to this cast. Stiller, Greta Gerwig, and Rhys Ifans just knock it out of the park here. This film is a character study at heart and without stellar performances like theirs, this film would have failed miserably. But luckily for the audience, Greenberg introduces us to a delightfully interesting set of characters that keeps you involved throughout the film's duration.