Boy-Man Problems

Cyrus provides a touching emotional battle of the wills
by
Morgan P Salvo

Mark and Jay Duplass, the directing/writing team of the Puffy Chair (winner of Bend Film’s Jury Prize in ’05) and the off-beat horror comedy Baghead venture out of super indie mumble-core mode to semi-mainstream mumble-core mode in their newest flick Cyrus. The signature style of the Duplass bros is kind of mesmerizing because it hasn’t progressed; it just has more recognizable actors.

John (John C. Reilly) is a big, goofy, disheveled, middle-aged loser who meets Molly (Marisa Tomei) at a party. Breaking all the dating rules, things move too fast and hit a wall when John encounters Cyrus (Jonah Hill), Molly’s 21 year old son still living at home. Cyrus exudes heartfelt yet bogus politeness undermining his hostility resulting in an escalating war of wills with John.

Cyrus stays home casting his deadpan bird-like stare, composing really bad ambient spaced-out techno pop. He tugs on Molly's heartstrings with manipulative childish behavior mixed with adult intellect. Several early scenes tease the squirming possibility of incest, and the suspense of such ambiguity with John snooping around has the feel as of a creepy horror movie.
John, who knows that he's lucky to be with a woman this attractive, is vulnerable but gradually gains his power, constituting a journey that's more touching than vengeful.

This wickedly ambiguous, yet strangely tender story has the actors improvising off a skeletal script that adds authenticity to their stories. Hill shows acting skills in a rarely seen demanding, perverse, poignant yet captivating screen presence. Shot with nifty hand-held camerawork, there’s still too much distracting “documentary-zoom”.
Cyrus is almost painful to watch in the same way that its embarrassing to witness people you know really well having an argument…not knowing which side to take, you sit back powerless to do anything but feel uncomfortable. Cyrus makes us feel awkward and yet drawn to the dilemma of all three characters, never investing in anyone fully but caring for all of them equally.
The best part of this movie was its simplicity and ability to suck you in by watching people go through resilient emotions. That’s a hard thing to accomplish these days, and Cyrus does it brilliantly.
Cyrus
Starring John C Reilley, Marissa Tomei, Jonah Hill, Catherine Keener
Directed/written by the Duplass Brothers
3 stars