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Plot Summary
From acclaimed director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) comes a quirky, coming-of-age love story between a young man (Henry Hopper) who has given up on life and a beautiful, charming young girl (Mia Wasikowska) who possesses a deep-felt love of life and the natural world. When these two outsiders chance to meet at a funeral, they find an unexpected common ground in their unique experiences of the world. Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard and Gus Van Sant.
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
36%- Reviews Counted: 107
- Fresh: 39
- Rotten: 68
- Average Rating: 5.1/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: "Restless" is far more precious than profound. But that takes little away from this soulful teenage exploration of love, life and death.
Rotten: Van Sant lays on the whimsy with a trowel; Wasikowska's quirky thrift-store wardrobe and twinkling performance are enough to trigger migraines.
Rotten: A film that is often as insipid as one of Nicholas Sparks's commercial melodramas.
Rotten: Had Restless been a silent film it may have been some kind of stylish masterpiece.
Customer Reviews
A love story. A ghost story. A gem.
Gus Van Sant (To Die For, Good Will Hunting) casts a bittersweet and magical spell in Restless, a film in the tradition of Harold and Maude. Restless explores death--wrestling with one's mortality, its effect on those left behind--in such an incredible, gentle, tender way. Certain cynical critics have dismissed the film as a too-twee bonbon, but it is clear in every scene, every frame, Van Sant has a deep respect for and understanding of youthful angst, longing, and emotional complexity. Rare are veteran directors who can capture with such accuracy and poignancy what is to be young, to go through those alternating, intense moments of bliss and ennui and terror which define one's coming-of-age, as well as Van Sant. Both lead performances are excellent. Between In Treatment, The Kids Are All Right, and last year's sublime version of Jane Eyre, Mia Wasikowska's effortlessness and classical grace, her innate ability to bring dignity and vulnerability to any character without ever raising her voice or resorting to actor's-studio artifice, is well-known. This might be the best performance yet in a destined-to-be-legendary career. Henry Hopper, too, impresses. Bearing a resemblance to his father (as well as, in my opinion at least, James Franco), he has a compelling intensity and quirkiness and knows when to push further, to let everything rush forth, and when to restrain himself and limit expression to his eyes. It will be exciting to see what he does next. With an impeccable soundtrack--including several cuts by indie pop great Sufjan Stevens and opening with Beatles classic "Two of Us" (the real recording rather than a cover, a relative rarity)--Restless floats along in the best possible way, engaging the heart and the mind. Death, friendship, romance, holding tight, letting go, the change of the season, remembering. This gem expertly captures the elegant, markedly brief conversation between life and death which constitutes a human life. A must-see.
Restless
I think this movie is beautiful in romance and in death. No matter your age, this film is touching to anyone with an empathetic heart. This film evokes real emotion in me every time I watch, and that is a sign of a terrific story.
better than twilight
mia wasikowska did a wonderful job in this moive
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- $12.99
- Genre: Drama
- Released: 2011
- © 2011 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.