"A
Romance on the brink of reality"
There are
those films over which I will never argue. They
aren't necessarily brilliant films, but neither
are they films that I deem unworthy of argument.
They are simply good films for which I feel a
strong affection. They are often personal in
nature, and they offer me a personal connection,
a way of dealing with life, a way of processing
my own experiences and a way of gaining new
insights, thoughts and ideas.
"Benny & Joon" is such a film.
I am aware that "Benny & Joon" is not, in the
truest sense, a brilliant film. It is easy to
watch the film and pick apart the lackings of
the script, the inconsistent performances, and,
ultimately, the lack of cohesiveness. Yet, all
of these things are irrelevant to me. "Benny &
Joon" is a film that, ten years later, continues
to make me smile. The moment I see Benny (Johnny
Depp) bounce onto the screen in his black hat my
heart opens, my smile widens and I become
engrossed all over again. Depp has long been
able to immerse himself in the quirkiest of
characters, and the role of Benny is one of his
quirkiest appearances on film. It would have
been an easy task to transform Benny into a
stereotype, a caricature. Yet, Depp deeply
humanizes Benny by ignoring the eccentricities,
the potential mental illness, the obviously
wounded child and presenting him as
authentically real and loving and funny and
dramatic. It is a nearly impossible balance, but
it is a balance that Depp achieves time and
again throughout the film.
The same is true of Mary Stuart Masterson in
what is, most likely, her best role. Masterson,
while working consistently, has never gone
beyond her droll, domesticated role with the
exception of her performance here. While it
doesn't have the richness of Depp's, it is
actually a perfect counterpoint to the lunatic
heights offered by Depp.
As the "normal" and protective brother, Aidan
Quinn offers a serviceable but clearly outshined
performance. Screenwriter Barry Berman clearly
focused on the two lead characters, often to the
detriment of the supporting players. Quinn,
along with an early performance from Julianne
Moore, could have stretched their performances
to much greater depths given better material to
work with...however, they remained integral and
interesting.
This was director Jeremiah Chechik's second
film, after the Christmas Vacation film. While
it is frustratingly paced at times, Chechik was
able to contain Depp's occasionally frantic
energy which allowed a nice balance with
Masterson's more subdued presentation and
Quinn's more authoritarian figure.
The film is blessed with a wonderful use of
color and cinematography, stellar costume design
and simple, but effective, set design. In its
tagline, it reads "A Romance on the Brink of
Reality." From a critical perspective, "Benny &
Joon" is a good film on the brink of brilliance.
©
Written by Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
N/A
Jacob
Hall's Comment
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