With Being Flynn, Paul Weitz (About A Boy) brings to the screen his interpretation of writer/poet Nick Flynn’s memoir, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City. The story has consistent narration throughout, though the narrator switches between two perspectives: that of Jonathan Flynn (Robert De Niro) and his son, Nick (Paul Dano of Little Miss Sunshine). We’re first introduced to Jonathan, the self-professed third greatest writer in American history (following Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger, naturally). Jonathan is a man in his 60s moving back and forth between his job as a taxi driver and his passion for being a writer. He expresses the usual distaste for society as an elderly curmudgeon and prefers his own “brilliant” dialogue to that of others. Nick Flynn, abandoned by Jonathan years ago, is a young man with his own struggles. A writer/poet himself, Nick is living on his savings and ends up moving into a converted former strip club with two new roommates. Nick is introduced to Denise (Olivia Thirlby), a strong, independent girl his age and, while she isn’t looking for a relationship, Denise no doubt falls into one with Nick. Nick decides to start working with Denise at the local homeless shelter. After Jonathan assaults his downstairs neighbors for playing music too loudly, he’s faced with eviction and the prospect of having Nick help him out. Jonathan is too proud (and delusional) to stay with Nick, and so they part ways after Nick helps him move out. Things darken for Jonathan and he eventually becomes homeless on the streets of New York. As fate would have it, Jonathan ends up at the very shelter Nick works at, jumpstarting a bizarre father-son relationship and threatening Nick’s very image of himself and how he fits into the world.
When Nick first comes face-to-face with Jonathan, he’s seeing a man making his own way through the world come what may, with no signs of delusion. But just as the original Jackson Pollack that Jonathan bequeaths unto Nick for his help is a fake, so is Jonathan’s state a mere illusion. His arrival at the shelter breaks down any remaining hope Nick has for a normal relationship and forces Nick to cast doubt on his own future as a writer, poet, and contributing member of society. Being Flynn follows a typical narrative beat sheet on redemptive tales with fervor and simple style, but ends up being slightly more profound and important thanks to good — if restricted – performances by the two leads and a nice third act.
The bulk of the film dedicates a little too much time to the monologues and diatribes of Jonathan. His position as unreliable narrator does not add to the film like De Niro’s sullen trudging through the cold, dark city does. De Niro solidly inhabits the miserable lifestyle of a homeless man, and apparently his outfitted self wasn’t even gawked at by passersby on set. It’s not farfetched to call Jonathan an aged version of Travis Bickle, with his solipsistic delusions of grandeur and purpose guiding a broken, lost man through a city. Nick’s story gave me the most pause, as his second act ends with him becoming addicted to drugs. Memoir or not, this plot point only really loses Nick the love of Denise – something that wasn’t helping him overcome his plight with his father anyway. It’s just all too easy and derivative for the struggling writer to fall into drugs, and when it neither raises the stakes nor adds to the character, one could do without including it. The third act, as I mentioned, redeems the film much as it redeems our protagonists. Nick, upon us learning that one of his overly observant short stories was read just before his mother’s suicide, has decided to take his father in and offer him a helping hand. Jonathan, while in a drunken stupor, admits that words have never killed anybody, even those of the world’s greatest writers. It’s both a father comforting his son in the only way he knows how and a ruined man coming to terms with his deficient life (on the way to fixing it).
Dano and De Niro do not look anything like each other, so let’s get that out of the way. There is no way that De Niro and Julianne Moore made a Paul Dano. Once past that, the acting is quite good, as to be expected from these fine actors as well as Thirlby, Lili Taylor, and Wes Studi in supporting roles. De Niro wholly embraces his role as an incapable homeless person. He masks his misery with non-sequitur poetry and abrasive language. It’s not for me to say it’s over-the-top, so I’ll just say it falls in with the story. Likewise, Dano is well within his wheelhouse as a slighted son and city-based poet. Ultimately, the script is what holds back the fine actors. De Niro and Dano are given just enough meaty wording to escape caricature, but their characters are still restricted to overt action and redundant dialogue. There’s subtlety to be found in the quieter sections between Nick and Jonathan, or Nick and his mother Jody, or even Nick and Denise. However, overall the film does not stick to a “less is more” philosophy, and I think a film involving writers, delicate situations, and raw emotions would benefit from such an application.
Much of Being Flynn’s score comes from the mind of Badly Drawn Boy (singer-songwriter Damon Gough). It’s fine and keeps to the background unless called for. While the music is not entirely forgettable, I wouldn’t rush out to grab the album any time soon. The cinematography by Declan Quinn is tight and focused, with an eye for urban decorum. The snowflakes pelting a homeless Jonathan on a park bench, steam rising from subway grates, and the warm, inviting light of a late night coffee shop all make for a decisive image. Again, it’s not terribly far from the night scenes of Taxi Driver.
Being Flynn is really a bittersweet piece on earning redemption and carving out a place in the world, no matter your baggage, predilections, or even mental state. Director Paul Weitz and his top-notch cast steer a mediocre film into the realm of something slightly more passionate and expressive than a typical look at the consequences of a broken home. Dano and De Niro are given solid characters to work with and not quite enough gray area to maneuver with. The audience is treated to a neat journey for a distanced father and son as they work to find a place for themselves and common ground that is beneficial to all.
Movie Rating: A solid drama with some timid aspirations that won’t ask you to think too hard. (6/10)
Recent Comments