Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with an early, early review of Sam Mendes' follow-up to REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, which still hasn't hit yet. According to our Shy Spy who attended the test screening, the title appeared as FARLANDERS, not THIS MUST BE THE PLACE as was previously reported, but no matter what the title is this movie is very much on my radar. Sam Mendes doing a comedy with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph... sure, count me in already, but when you add on people like Maggie Gyllenhaal and one of my all-time big movie crushes Melanie Lynskey then it's a movie that I'm more than anxious to check out. It's not slated for release until sometime in '09, so keep in mind that there's a lot of tweaking still left to do on this. Our Shy Spy below goes into some detail, so I've spoiler-warning'd this report! You have been notified! Enjoy the early look!
The flyer said it was an untitled Sam Mendes project. The opening credit called it "Farlanders". IMDB calls it "This Must Be The Place". Someone (I'm sure a talkbacker will point out who) once said something along the lines of "For a film to be good, it has to have three good scenes." This film had at least four really outstanding "can't wait to tell my friends at the water cooler" scenes, but as a whole, it was just all right. With a little polish, it could be better, so start polishing, Sam. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph play an unwed couple expecting their first child who learn that his parents are moving to Europe a month before the baby is due (first great scene). Figuring they have no reason to stay where they are, as her parents are deceased, they decide to visit a few different places to find the "best place" to settle down. These places include a) Arizona, where Maya's old boss (Allison Janey) relocated (second great scene), as did Maya's younger sister b) Wisconsin, where John has a potential job lead and a crazy-ass cousin, played by Maggie Gyllenhall (third great scene), c) Montreal, where two college friends have settled (fourth great, most powerful scene by Melanie Lynsky and Chris Messina- thanks, IMDB), and Miami, where John has a brother. The flyer described the film as a comedy, but it takes a real serious turn from Montreal to the end of the film. In my opinion, this is where the pacing loses a little steam and the film doesn't deliver the way it wants to. But the lady from the screening said that we were the first people to see this (and they don't lie, right?), so maybe they'll edit it better. If those editors are reading it, you got some disappearing beer bottles in the Miami kitchenette scene you might want to take another look at. I like the movie better now than I did when I left. John and Maya's characters moan and moan about what screwups they are, and it kind of put me off because they came off as whiny and immature. Now, in the warm light of day, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. They got a baby coming and they just want to do the best they can for her, and for each other. With a little work, this could be something special. And Sam is just the guy to do it, in my opinion. No names, please. I'm Shy.
