00672 – IGBY GOES DOWN

MovieHype00672 – IGBY GOES DOWN

I have a fascination with rich white kids from privileged backgrounds. The fascination comes from the fact that I don’t understand them, how they think, operate, or manage to have the gall to go through life as if they are entitled to everything.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t make good movies about them. I enjoyed THE RULES OF ATTRACTION for its unsparing look at how pathetic this world really is. From the same vein but a different take we get IGBY GOES DOWN.

Kieran Culkin plays the title character. Yes, he’s Macaulay’s brother, and no he’s not a clone. The dude is amazing, giving us an adult performance of a kid expected to live as an adult in a world of permanent adolescence. Jeff Goldbloom, Claire Danes, Ryan Phillipe and an award-worthy Susan Sarandon round out the stellar cast. (Even Amanda Peet doesn’t embarrass herself, and that’s saying something.)

IGBY goes down isn’t a feel good movie. It’s darkly cynical, and at times you despair whether there is anyone to root for. But it’s also quietly brilliant, and demonstrates that while wealth buys a lot of things, not only is happiness not one of them, but neither is a sense of self.

Hyperion’s Rating Guide (the abbreviated version)

Suspension of Disbelief: 2 (out of 10)

Genre Grade: Films about the New York Elite are a genre unto themselves, and we’ll go a solid B+ in that class

Pantheon Percentile (% of movies this is better than, of all time): 70. A small gem.