Igby Goes Down
by Burr Steers
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Actor: Claire Danes, Jared Harris, Jeff Goldblum, Kieran Culkin, Susan SarandonDirector: Burr Steers
Brand: MGM (Video & DVD)
Writer: Burr Steers
Producer: David Rubin
Producer: Fran Lucci
Producer: Helen Beadleston
Producer: Lisa Tornell
Producer: Marco Weber
Producer: Miggel
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-04
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Igby Goes Down
DVD Review: Truly a cult film that never quite found its niche
Summary: 4 Stars
I was in a hotel room recently in Carmel-By-The-Sea, waiting out rain and cruising their cable TV, when I came across a reality show that dealt with a group of spoiled rich prep school kids living in Manhattan, spending their parents' money on expensive clothes, cars and spa treatments. One, 16, said to the camera, "I will go to Princeton [she hadn't even taken her SATs yet], graduate, become the vice president of a genetics firm, and at 40 be married with two girls." She said it without irony and as though reciting a shopping list, which in essence it was.
The moment made me think of Igby Goes Down, the brilliant, sardonic comedy written and directed by Burr Steers, whose directorial debut is as polished as it is confident. Steers, the son of a Republican congressman and a stepsister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and a half-sister of the writer Gore Vidal, allegedly grew up in the Hamptons and knows all about the people he spears in this deliciously nasty film. (And if that pedigree isn't enough, his great grandfather was the founder of Standard Oil.) The film centers around Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin, in what should have been his breakout film), the 17-year-old son of Park Avenue parents. Dad, played by Bill Pullman, has already had a nervous breakdown, and now lives in the "Maryland home of the befuddled, cuckoo for Coco-Puffs," as Igby explains. Mom, also known as Mimi ("Medusa was already taken," Igby explains of the name) and played by Susan Sarandon, already has everything planned out for Igby: prep school, university, and an executive position at some white-shoe firm where he will earn the big bucks, and, even more importantly, further the good family name. But Igby's rebellious maneuvers keep thwarting her plans. Igby's older and domineering brother, Oliver, played by Ryan Phillippe (who's still looking for a breakout film), is more to mommy's tastes, as he emulates the slick and oily rich uncle of the family, DH (we never do find out what the initials stand for) played by Jeff Goldblum in a turn away from his usual types of performances. But Igby can't go this route, despite his mother's attempts to push him into the direction she wants for her son. And so Igby, somewhat immaturely but understandably, goes on a rampage to assert his freedom, skipping out of one private school after another, shaking up with DH's mistress (Amanda Peet), and having a relationship with another snotty, bratty child of Park Avenue privilege, Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), who is closer in age to Oliver but as messed up about what she wants and who she is as Igby. Neither is as grown up or secure as they pretend to be, nor are many of the other characters in the film (particularly Russel, a performance artist/drug dealer played by Jared Harris in an amazing performance). But Igby knows this, subconsciously, and throughout the film he grows--subtly. Early on he gets a lesson from an older boy (Igby is always surrounding himself with older people) in "reverse Darwinism," a social adaptation in which less-evolved and intelligent people actually do better in life than the more advanced, because the world is set up to favor the cruder, the baser, the more coarse. At this point Igby doesn't seem to understand the point and stares blankly, but later he adapts the philosophy--temporarily--to his own requirements, in one of the darker moments of the movie, as he reverts to Russel's low level. Those who have criticized the film because Igby doesn't have an epiphany or change, however, aren't watching close enough, and there is one scene involving Igby and his mother, or her corpse, that is almost too painful to view. Indeed, one of the reasons this film got slighted by many critics is because it is far more subtle than they gave it credit for. Steers doesn't hit you over the head with the meaning and the character beats. To get them, you have to pay close attention, and that's a lost art today.
Steers' dialogue is razor sharp in a way movie dialogue rarely is these days, and his direction is rich without his techniques ever getting in the way of the story. There are all sorts of devices used--fast-motion and slow motion and camera tilts, flashbacks and dissolves and even a fantasy sequences where Igby imagines his father sitting on a bench talking to him. Yet, unlike Wes Anderson and inferior films like The Royal Tenenbaums, Steers does not overdo. There are lots of low-key moments of humor, such as Amanda Peet's "dadaesque" apartment furnishings and the name of the military school commander who comes in search of Igby; the uncredited cameos by Gore Vidal and Mick Jagger's daughter. I think Steers thought the film, which requires its audience be culturally-literate in that special "east coast" way, would find its niche in more arty theaters on that coast, but alas, it did not. Perhaps the fact that it came out shortly after 9/11, when most of the country was not in the mood for a downbeat film set in New York, was part of the reason. Whatever, the cast was so impressed with the script that many signed on for scale to be in the film, being that Igby Goes Down was a very low-budget production. The love and hard work by everyone involves shows. This film is indie, but it does not look indie.
My one minor complaint is that Mimi, the mother, wasn't *quite* nasty and vindictive enough in my book. I've seen meaner mothers. One was mine. Fortunately I didn't turn out like Igby, but I can relate to what a cold mother can do to one's development, especially when you get to see her last moments on her deathbed, and how you react with both love and hate. There were some scenes showing an even nastier mother that were cut from the movie, but are in an outtakes section. A few of these, I think, should have been put back in. (In the commentary track for the deleted scenes [yes, these deleted scenes have a commentary track] the director explains why he had to cut some of Sarandon's nastiness. Let's just say it's sad what you have to do when too many chefs have a say over the soup.)
This is a small quibble, however. Ignore the critics, and enjoy this wonderful movie. It's sad, funny, happy, filled with pathos, love and hate, all at the same time, and with a stylish look and, for once, a soundtrack of pop songs that actually works. (The original scoring, by Uwe Fahrenkrog Petersen, is also quite good.) DVD extras include a making-of documentary that's lots of fun, outtakes, commentary by Steers and Culkin (I would like to have heard from the rest of the cast as well), and a trailer.
Description of Igby Goes Down
Many movies strive to capture the confused, yearning spirit of The Graduate or The Catcher in the Rye; Igby Goes Down succeeds. Igby (Kieran Culkin) is a teen struggling to find any purpose or meaning to his life; surrounding him are his tyrant mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon), schizophrenic father Jason (Bill Pullman), wealthy and deceitful godfather D.H. (Jeff Goldblum), and cold brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe)--all of whom have their own problems. While evading being sent to yet another boarding school, Igby seeks solace with two women: Rachel (Amanda Peet), a drug-addicted dancer who's D.H.'s mistress, and Sookie (Claire Danes), a college student who becomes perhaps his only friend. Culkin carries the film, ably supported by the superb cast; script, direction, and performances are razor sharp. Igby Goes Down doesn't let anyone--including Igby--off the hook for their cruelty, hypocrisy, or lack of empathy. --Bret FetzerMany movies strive to capture the confused, yearning spirit of The Graduate or The Catcher in the Rye; Igby Goes Down succeeds. Igby (Kieran Culkin) is a teen struggling to find any purpose or meaning to his life; surrounding him are his tyrant mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon), schizophrenic father Jason (Bill Pullman), wealthy and deceitful godfather D.H. (Jeff Goldblum), and cold brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe)--all of whom have their own problems. While evading being sent to yet another boarding school, Igby seeks solace with two women: Rachel (Amanda Peet), a drug-addicted dancer who's D.H.'s mistress, and Sookie (Claire Danes), a college student who becomes perhaps his only friend. Culkin carries the film, ably supported by the superb cast; script, direction, and performances are razor sharp. Igby Goes Down doesn't let anyone--including Igby--off the hook for their cruelty, hypocrisy, or lack of empathy. --Bret Fetzer
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