The Details (2011)

My favorite movie genre is the dark comedy. In the best of them characters do two things: they say the unsay-able and do the undo-able, but in a naturalistic way that turns everyday events into a journey to that feral, hidden nature that dwells in all of us but is usually only realized in dreams or fantasies. The film that kept coming to my mind while watching THE DETAILS was FARGO , the heavyweight champion of the genre. Clearly, writer/director Jacob Aaron Estes has given the Coen Brothers a run for their money in his latest cinematic effort; the story of a young doctor (played by Tobey Maguire in a career changing performance), who is living a story book existence, with a seemingly perfect home, family and circle of friends. That is, until a series of increasingly impulsive decisions thrusts him into a downward spiral that turns his innocuous existence into a living, hilarious hell. To me, there is nothing funnier than humor that makes me laugh and wince at the same time, and THE DETAILS does that in spades. The ensemble acting by an all-star cast is something to behold, with possible supporting Oscar nods to Laura Linney, Dennis Hasbert and Ray Liotta. Linney especially rises to another acting plane in her ability to turn a garishly eccentric neighbor into a believable seductress. A scene involving Liotta and Maguire on a bridge is one that I believe will still be talked about years from now. All of this is tied together seamlessly by the mature, confident writing and direction of Mr. Estes, who manages to accelerate the mundane to the horrifyingly surreal without a hint of the cinematic self-consciousness many directors have succumbed to while trying their hands at this most difficult kind of humor. Finally, I was really impressed with the way the set design, photography and soundtrack all blend together to create a sense of eerie whimsicality that eased me into a sense of anticipation—indeed participation—to the point where I was immediately rationalizing the shocking climax, as if I were the unfortunate Doctor himself. To sum up, THE DETAILS is hilarious and horrifying in a unique, naturalistic way, an example of independent filmmaking at its best.