When George (Alessandro Nivola) and his successful art dealer wife Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) return to his southern home and roots in a small North Carolina town. He’s forced to face all the issues that caused him to leave in the first place: his brother Johnny (The O.C.’s Benjamin McKenzie) jealousy, his father’s distance, and his domineering mother. Once in that environment he mentally checks out, and forces his wife to deal with his family “”virtually”” alone. The one ray of sunshine in this bleak existence is Johnny’s girlfriend the very pregnant but always cheerful Ashley (Amy Adams).
Amy Adams gives an Oscar worthy performance, and basically is the glue that holds this film together. She’s sunny, without being irritating, and plays the role in a way that while she’s happy on the outside you can tell that there’s real pain underneath the surface. Meanwhile Madeline is clearly out of her element in this family. She’s trying so hard to fit in, but no one but Ashley is going out of their way to help her. George’s mother Peg (Celia Weston), while not openly hostile, obviously disapproves of her son’s choice.
It’s hard to get a bead on George, while he’s with alone with his wife, he’s happy, virbrant, smart, and intelligent, but when he’s with his family, he’s withdrawn and there are a lot of shots of him sitting alone, drinking a beer and not saying anything. Nivola doesn’t add a lot of depth to the character, but then that’s the point. At times you want to grab George by the neck and tell him to take control and help his wife cope. There’s a wonderful scene where he gets up and sings a hymn at church. Nivola pours all of George’s angst into this one little song. It’s that moment when you finally start to get George.
Writer Angus MacLachlan, has crafted a tale that doesn’t fall into Hollywood stereotypes of what it’s like to live in the south. Nothing outrageous happens, people don’t speak with thick southern accents, these people just are, they just exist: nothing more, nothing less. Junebug is a quiet, contemplative film about what it means to be a family. [url=http://eclipsemagazine.com/podcasts/junebug2b.mp3][Ed Note – We recently caught up with Alessandro Nivola and Amy Adams, you can listen to an exclusive 20 minute uncut audio interview by clicking here!!!][/url]Final Grade BEM Review and Interviewby Michelle AlexandriaOriginally Posted 08/26/05