Review: Imaginary Heroes

An already messed up family is struggling to deal with the shocking suicide of the star athlete eldest son (Kip Pardue). Youngest son Tim (Emile Hirsch) struggles to understand his place in the family, as well as having to live in the shadow of the ‘golden child’, even after his death. He gets into drugs and general piss farting around with his best friend, pretending nothing is wrong. And what are those bruises all over his body? He says it was the result of school bullying, but the viewer isn’t so sure. Dad (Jeff Daniels) refuses to break from the tradition of setting a place at the dinner table for his dead son, and barely acknowledges the existence of Tim, who is alive but nothing like his older brother. He has completely cut himself off emotionally from the rest of the family and is in the midst of a hopeless breakdown. Sister Penny (Michelle Williams) has been smart enough to go away for college and only comes back on holidays. And then there is mother Sandy (Sigourney Weaver, bringing humanity and authenticity to her role), who stupidly gets busted for trying to buy pot and gets involved with an oddball suicidal supermarket employee (played by a weirdly funny Jay Paulson), having gotten no emotional response from her husband in some time. She is, however, the most positive and loving influence in Tim’s life, which she reminds him at one pivotal point. She also has a long-standing feud with a next-door neighbour, the true nature and ramifications of which, are only slowly revealed.

 

The first directorial effort by then 24 year-old Dan Harris (screenwriter of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s underrated “Until Death”, as well as “X2” and “Superman Returns”) from his own screenplay, this 2004 family drama with subtle black comedy moments will remind you of “Ordinary People”, “The Ice Storm”, and “American Beauty”. It amazed me that I ended up so emotionally invested in and affected by the film, because it has some genuine problems on a narrative level. Harris overstuffs things a little, even when some of the irrelevancies are amusing, such as Jay Paulson’s frankly rather creepy but undeniably scene-stealing character. I’m not sure whether it’s a shame that his character’s constant reappearances are poorly explained, or if it’s annoying that such an extraneous character is included at all. I also think Michelle Williams’ character appears all-too fleetingly throughout, despite giving a rock-solid performance. I really wanted more with her character.

 

The film perhaps has one shocking family revelation too many as well, I’d argue, especially considering the revelation in question (which is tied in with another earlier revelation) seems to have an inadequate resolution to put it politely. I also think Harris needed to show his screenplay to someone outside of his circle, because some of the back-story was, to me at least, quite confusing.

 

Having said that, I can’t deny that this one got my waterworks going, especially a final confrontation between father and son that is just heart-wrenching stuff and superbly played by Jeff Daniels. Even more impressive is Sigourney Weaver, in one of her sadly all-too rare genuine ‘acting’ assignments. She’s absolutely terrific as an imperfect but in her own way loving mother and family matriarch. I could see similarities in her influence on Tim’s life and the matriarchal influences in my own life that really resonated for me. On her day and given a real character to play, Weaver can be one of the best actresses around and in this film she proves that. Emile Hirsch, who later got in my bad books with Sean Penn’s pretentious “Into the Wild” is quite impressive in the rather tricky lead role.

 

This isn’t a great film, and it’s a bit of a shame because Harris has some really great elements here, but hey, it’s a pretty good first directorial effort and that’s nothing to sneeze at. It definitely won’t be for everyone, as this is one extremely messed up family and things get messier and messier the longer the film goes on, but I found it rewarding, at least on an emotional level. I definitely recommend it, especially for fans of Sigourney Weaver, who damn well deserved an Oscar nomination for this. It’s a shame Mr. Harris hasn’t directed a film since, because, warts and all, he has made a good film.

 

Rating: B-