Indie Movie Roundup: Cyrus & Countdown To Zero

Cyrus (2010)

August 26, 2010   

If you were to ask most moviegoers what their favorite Summer film has been thus far, the title “Cyrus,” most likely would be nowhere on the list. That probably is more of a result of the film’s limited release pattern than anything else and it’s a real shame. Had more people seen this film I feel positive that the reaction would have been more along the lines of the feelings I had regarding this small gem of a film. Simply put, I felt it was the best experience I’ve had at the movies all Summer long. In a Summer filled with lots of noise and little substance, this is a little movie that deals with important issues in regards to relationships in a really big way.

John (John C. Reilly), who has been divorced for seven years, and is now terminally depressed, is asked by his ex wife Jamie (Catherine Keener) to go to a party to try and meet new people. Just when he’s about to give up, he meets Molly, a stunningly beautiful 40 something, winningly portrayed by the stunningly beautiful actress Maris Tomei. At first, things seem to be going swimmingly well (don’t they always at the beginning of any relationship?). But, as it transpires in most relationships at some point, the proverbial shoe eventually drops, this time in the form of Molly’s 21 year old son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill of cult hit “Superbad” fame).  

When John meets Cyrus, things really start to change and not in a good way. Although Cyrus appears to be friendly on a surface level, John becomes suspicious. The suspicions begin when John’s shoes literally disappear and things go downhill from there.  John’s feeling is that Cyrus is deliberately trying to ruin him and the relationship that he is trying to cultivate with Molly. It isn’t long before Cyrus makes it his mission in life to put an end to John and Molly’s couplehood and prove John’s fears to be true. Cyrus feels that the relationship will threaten the dynamic that Molly and he have shared for so many years and that it must be stopped at all costs.

Photo: John C. Reilly & Jonah Hill, as Cyrus

“Cyrus” is a film of depth and warmth. It is also a very funny film too, even though it deals with a the serious side of relationships. The film is perceptive as it illuminates the perils in any relationship of not giving the other person involved a ‘vote,’ so to speak. So many relationships seem to falter when one of the parties involved makes a decision involving the couple without consulting the other half. I’m sure most of you reading this column have experienced it firsthand as I surely have in my time. In a worse case scenario, when this type of thing isn’t dealt with properly, it can even lead to the possible demise of the couple, sending the relationship to its death throes almost immediately, or at least somewhere in the near future. Thankfully, “Cyrus” ends with a positive vibe but one should always take note that life-and relationships-don’t always turn out that way. It is still good to know that films like “Cyrus” exist to help us all see what we are oftentimes too close to see for ourselves.

Countdown to Zero (2010)

The ads proclaim that this doomsday documentary are from the makers of the Oscar winning, global warming documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Actually that’s only half of the truth, pardon the pun. In reality, Lawrence Bender, the producer of ‘Truth,’ is the only real connection to that earlier film. Of course, the subject matter of both films has much in common and it isn’t a pleasant one. Both films are about a scenario that could wipe out life as we know it.

Some people tend to run from these types of films. I, on the other hand, tend to run toward them, embracing these doomsday films as if there was no tomorrow and, if we are to believe the point of view of these films, there seriously may be no tomorrow. Well, at least we have films like this to unnerve and give us a reason to philosophize about our place in the world while the globe still spins.

“Countdown to Zero” is actually an intriguing and interesting film, its subject matter being the threat of nuclear annihilation courtesy of terrorism, careless mistake, or just sheer idiocy. Though I didn’t feel the dramatic urgency that I felt with other serious docs in the same vein of this film (Food Inc. and the aforementioned Inconvenient Truth), ‘Zero’ does make you stop and think in a very serious way.  The film is filled with onscreen appearances by such political leaders as Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, Robert McNamara, Tony Blair, and many others. These folks aren’t exactly known for their theatrical flair. As a result, their interviews can be a bit tedious but when the filmmakers paint the scenario of what might happen should a bomb be dropped on Times Square during the annual New Year’s Eve celebration, viewers will certainly come to attention as the hair on the back of one’s neck instantly stands on end. This is scary stuff no doubt, and though “Zero” may not be the film to bring you out of a summer funk, it is truly great that films like this exist in order to remind us that, beyond our individual, self created universes filled with Ipods, videogames, and celebrity gossip, there is much to fear in the big world out there. Even if only a handful of us care to know.

Editor’s note: neither movie is currently playing in this area, though Cyrus will be out on DVD in the fall.

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