Review: Old Joy (2006)

OLD JOY
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: This is a not-much-happening account of
two old friends who head out for the Oregon
backwoods to check out some hot springs and to talk
about nothing in particular. Even as a short film,
OLD JOY drags and feels padded. Rating: 0 (-4 to +4)
or 4/10

While the title is OLD JOY, there is little joy in this film. In
fact there is not very much of much here. The film is only 78
minutes long and much of that is just footage showing the road
scenery of Oregon. They might have called the film THE BRIDGES
OF MULTNOMAH COUNTY. One of the two main characters, Kurt tells
his friend Mark that the reason he likes going out in the woods
is that "you can really think." He means that there is little to
interrupt your thought process because nothing of great interest
is happening. That is a lot like the experience of watching OLD
JOY. The viewer has a lot of time to think because there is not
much happening on that screen. The film is not like the films of
Andrey Tarkovsky who gave the viewer long stretches of thinking
time. This film is just about entirely thinking time.

Daniel London plays Mark and Will Oldham plays Kurt, two men each
in his thirties, who have been friends since their teens. The
characters have gone in different directions. Mark is struggling
to earn money for his fledgling family. He has a pregnant wife
and is overworked trying to build a family. He has bought into
traditional values. Kurt, on the other hand, has never settled
down and enjoys nature and hiking. Kurt likes nature trips and
sees nature in mystical terms. He claims to understand super-
string theory, but when he tries to explain what it is he fails
totally. He looks backward on all that he has lost ("sorrow is
nothing but worn-out joy") while Mark is too busy looking at
building a future.

Apparently these nature trips have been a longtime tradition.
The two go off to try to find a hot spring that Kurt had visited
previously. After a little trouble they find it, take a bath,
and return home. (Perhaps I should have put a spoiler warning on
this paragraph because it goes beyond revealing plot details,
that is just about the whole plot.) That is what you get with
OLD JOY.

In acting the ideal is not to behave as the character would at
that moment but to bring out inner truths about the character
without too much spoiling the realism. Most stories that are
character studies are contrived since the building blocks of the
personalities are all assiduously presented to the viewer. It is
not unlike a mystery story that takes pains to show the viewer
all the clues. OLD JOY does not do that. A little of the boys'
different viewpoints is presented in their conversation, but in
general nothing is made more obvious than would be if you were
somehow following around Joe Average on an uneventful day. Some
viewers may respond to that. I have to admit that it is not
appealing to me. If the film is making a statement about
urbanization it should show up in the dialog, not just show road
footage. Making the statement by showing the long sequences of
road scenery makes the film little more interesting than actually
driving the road. It is an OK drive--certainly when they get
into the Cascade Mountains--but not worthwhile at today's film
ticket prices.

Kelly Reichardt directs a screenplay she co-authored with
Jonathan Raymond based on a story by Raymond. Your capacity to
appreciate this film is really your capacity to see depth in a
"fly-on-the-wall" visit with two friends who are drifting apart
and do not really have much to say to each other. I rate it a 0
on the -4 to +4 scale or 4/10.

Mark R. Leeper
mleeper.TakeThisOut@optonline.net
Copyright 2006 Mark R. Leeper