Gummo
Directed by Harmony Korine
Written by Haromy Korine
1997, USA
Gobsmackingly brilliant; Gummo marks the directorial debut of Kids writer and indie rebel Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers, Trash Humpers). Upon its initial release, Gummo drew critical fire and Korine was denounced as an exploitative brat with a movie camera. But what emerges from his twisted mind is a stylish, poetic, and brutally honest portrait of an American underclass whose misery is rarely addressed on the big screen. Korine arranges a total deterioration of narrative logic and social norms, and Gummo seems to be provocatively anti-everything: everything but life. Gummo is cruel, bitter, and sometimes offensive but also occasionally quite moving. For example: The infamous scene in which Solomon shoots the listless grandmother in the foot while his buddy disconnects her life support, could be read as an act of mercy. Gummo is full of despair, yet populated by an optimistic ensemble: “Life is beautiful,...
Directed by Harmony Korine
Written by Haromy Korine
1997, USA
Gobsmackingly brilliant; Gummo marks the directorial debut of Kids writer and indie rebel Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers, Trash Humpers). Upon its initial release, Gummo drew critical fire and Korine was denounced as an exploitative brat with a movie camera. But what emerges from his twisted mind is a stylish, poetic, and brutally honest portrait of an American underclass whose misery is rarely addressed on the big screen. Korine arranges a total deterioration of narrative logic and social norms, and Gummo seems to be provocatively anti-everything: everything but life. Gummo is cruel, bitter, and sometimes offensive but also occasionally quite moving. For example: The infamous scene in which Solomon shoots the listless grandmother in the foot while his buddy disconnects her life support, could be read as an act of mercy. Gummo is full of despair, yet populated by an optimistic ensemble: “Life is beautiful,...
- 3/30/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Film review: 'Gummo'
This is the directorial debut of Harmony Korine, the screenwriter of the controversial "Kids", and it makes that film look like an MGM musical.
A close-up portrait of disaffected youth in Middle America, "Gummo" is, without mincing words, one of the most repellent cinematic efforts in recent memory. Whatever small audiences it attracts -- and they will be drawn mostly by the prospect of watching something "shocking"-- will wind up leaving the theater in a state of disgust.
The largely structureless, seemingly improvised script follows a group of teenagers as they wander aimlessly around a small, tornado-devastated town in Ohio (this is a film guaranteed to make you glad you live in a city), spending their time engaged in such charming activities as torturing cats, getting high by sniffing glue and removing the life support from a dying old woman.
A largely amateur cast portrays the off-putting characters: They include Cole (Max Perlich), who pimps his mentally impaired sister out of their house; Bunny Boy (Jacob Sewell), who skateboards his way around town while half-naked; and Dot (Chloe Sevigny) and Helen (Carisa Bara), two sisters who, when they are not obsessed with their nipples, are attempting to raise their younger sister. The film mainly centers around the adolescent Solomon (Jacob Reynolds) and his older friend Tummler (Nick Sutton), who keep themselves financed by selling the dead cats to a local restaurant. Incidentally, the character of Solomon's mother, who at one point regales us with some grotesque soft shoe dancing, is played by Linda Manz, the former child actress who starred in "Days of Heaven".
Director-screenwriter Korine lacks the maturity or perspective to give these mostly appalling characters any depth, and the series of vignettes he has devised lack any dramatic power or resonance. Unlike the stylistically assured "Kids", which had a certain compelling fascination even when dealing with similarly tough material, "Gummo" seems content to shock merely for shock's sake.
Although the director has rendered his sordid milieu with a degree of seeming authenticity, his palette is so limited that the depiction seems extreme and unbelievable. What he no doubt intends to come across as honest seems mean-spirited and condescending. If there was a society to prevent discrimination against "white trash," they would sue.
GUMMO
Fine Line Features
Director-screenwriter Harmony Korine
Producer Cary Woods
Co-producers Robin O'Hara, Scott Macaulay
Director of photography Jean Yves Escoffier
Editor Christopher Tellefsen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Solomon Jacob Reynolds
Tummler Nick Sutton
Bunny Boy Jacob Sewell
Darby Darby Doughterty
Dot Chloe Sevigny
Helen Carisa Bara
Solomon's Mom Linda Manz
Cole Max Perlich
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
A close-up portrait of disaffected youth in Middle America, "Gummo" is, without mincing words, one of the most repellent cinematic efforts in recent memory. Whatever small audiences it attracts -- and they will be drawn mostly by the prospect of watching something "shocking"-- will wind up leaving the theater in a state of disgust.
The largely structureless, seemingly improvised script follows a group of teenagers as they wander aimlessly around a small, tornado-devastated town in Ohio (this is a film guaranteed to make you glad you live in a city), spending their time engaged in such charming activities as torturing cats, getting high by sniffing glue and removing the life support from a dying old woman.
A largely amateur cast portrays the off-putting characters: They include Cole (Max Perlich), who pimps his mentally impaired sister out of their house; Bunny Boy (Jacob Sewell), who skateboards his way around town while half-naked; and Dot (Chloe Sevigny) and Helen (Carisa Bara), two sisters who, when they are not obsessed with their nipples, are attempting to raise their younger sister. The film mainly centers around the adolescent Solomon (Jacob Reynolds) and his older friend Tummler (Nick Sutton), who keep themselves financed by selling the dead cats to a local restaurant. Incidentally, the character of Solomon's mother, who at one point regales us with some grotesque soft shoe dancing, is played by Linda Manz, the former child actress who starred in "Days of Heaven".
Director-screenwriter Korine lacks the maturity or perspective to give these mostly appalling characters any depth, and the series of vignettes he has devised lack any dramatic power or resonance. Unlike the stylistically assured "Kids", which had a certain compelling fascination even when dealing with similarly tough material, "Gummo" seems content to shock merely for shock's sake.
Although the director has rendered his sordid milieu with a degree of seeming authenticity, his palette is so limited that the depiction seems extreme and unbelievable. What he no doubt intends to come across as honest seems mean-spirited and condescending. If there was a society to prevent discrimination against "white trash," they would sue.
GUMMO
Fine Line Features
Director-screenwriter Harmony Korine
Producer Cary Woods
Co-producers Robin O'Hara, Scott Macaulay
Director of photography Jean Yves Escoffier
Editor Christopher Tellefsen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Solomon Jacob Reynolds
Tummler Nick Sutton
Bunny Boy Jacob Sewell
Darby Darby Doughterty
Dot Chloe Sevigny
Helen Carisa Bara
Solomon's Mom Linda Manz
Cole Max Perlich
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/17/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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