nights and weekends Tagged Articles at Cinematical

(We first caught Joe Swanberg's "Nights and Weekends" at Austin's SXSW Film Festival, but since it's opening in limited release this weekend, we're reprinting our review from last March.)

By: Erik Davis

Nights and Weekends marks writer-director Joe Swanberg's fourth consecutive film at the South by Southwest Film Festival, and it's quite possibly his strongest work yet. Here, Swanberg co-directs and stars alongside girl-next-door-with-an-edge Greta Gerwig – and the two play a couple struggling through the highs and lows of a long distance relationship. What we see is what we don't see, if that makes any sense, as Swanberg and Gerwig consciously chose not to hand this one to the audience on a silver platter. Case in point: There's really no narrative at all. One would think a film with no narrative would be the equivalent of recording you and your significant other watching TV on a Friday night – cuddled up, chitter chatter with a pause for a snack here and there.

On the surface, Nights and Weekends is just that – a regular night (or nights) with regular people who talk just like us or them or your friend with the huge crush on that guy we all kinda know. But look a little deeper and Nights and Weekends is so much more than "just another 'Mumblecore' flick about confusing relationships and missed opportunities." Swanberg and Gerwig do a tremendous job tapping into everything we love about our relationships, as well as everything we hate – and they do this with moments, glances, kisses and tears. No score. No set pieces. No set up and payoff. In an interview the morning after the film's world premiere, Swanberg told me that's exactly how he remembers his own life: as random scenes, conversations or smiles – a mixed fruit basket of love, lust, fear and disappointment.

Cinematical has just received the first trailer for Nights and Weekends, written, starring and directed by Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig. The film, which first premiered during this year's South by Southwest Film Festival (or SXSW), follows one couple struggling to maintain a long distance relationship, and all the ups and downs that go along with that. Not only does it rank among Swanberg and Gerwig's best to date, but, as I said in my review, both "do a tremendous job tapping into everything we love about our relationships, as well as everything we hate – and they do this with moments, glances, kisses and tears. No score. No set pieces. No set up and payoff."

Like most films that carry the Swanberg and Gerwig name, it's experimental and it definitely takes risks in the way it conveys the story -- but that's also what makes it unique and a pleasure to watch. Instead of searching for plot points, you're forced to share this couple's most intimate moments together -- and not only does it feel raw, fresh and funky, but also satisfying and somewhat therapeutic.

IFC Festival Direct will bring Nights and Weekends to your living room via On Demand beginning September 24, and the film will also enjoy a theatrical run at New York's IFC Center beginning October 10th. Check it out, and let us know what you think. See the trailer below ...

While most of you are probably familiar with the work of Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs, LOL, Nights and Weekends) by way of film festivals and the term "Mumblecore," you may not know that he also has a very successful online series called Young American Bodies that just entered its third season. Presented by IFC.com and Nerve Video, Young American Bodies is "a candid, no-holds-barred look at the intersecting love lives of six 20-somethings in Chicago ..." Each episode is less than 10 minutes long, and you can watch all 20 episodes in total from seasons 1 and 2, as well as six of the twelve episodes in season 3 (one is revealed each weekday).

One thing I love about Swanberg's film making is his ability to capture the tiny moments between two people; not only as a director, but as an actor too. He's great at dissecting relationships right before your eyes, without any of the Hollywood fluff or unrealistic dialogue. Everything in a Joe Swanberg film will feel natural, and you, as an audience member, may feel a little uncomfortable watching -- because even though it's fiction, Swanberg has a way of making everything feel very real.

So if you have some time this weekend and you're looking for something to watch, head on over to the Young American Bodies website and settle in to some of these episodes. Then let us know what you think. (Keep in mind, these are R-rated.)

It was tough work, but we did it: we managed to drag ourselves to over 50 films, sit in the velvet-draped seats of roughly six different darkened theaters, and absorb all that celluloid. Thereafter, we discussed what we watched, ranked, sorted, argued, re-ranked, and discussed some more. Finally, we were able to come up with this list of the 10 best films from SXSW 2008. If you weren't able to come to SXSW this year, it's ok. We've got the lowdown for you. Here we go...

(For the full review of each film, click the image.)

Natural Causes is a modern romantic comedy. While not perfect, it is composed of so many identifiably true moments that you'll fall in love with the movie ... The performances by Jerzy Gwiazdowski and Leah Goldstein help seal the deal. It wasn't until after the movie that I learned they're a real-life couple, which surprised me because most real-life couples have little chemistry on screen. Yet they convinced me they were, at various stages, a flirting couple getting to know one another, a comfortable pair of lovers playing video games naked, and a bickering twosome.

In a little while we'll be shoveling out our list of the ten best films from this year's South by Southwest Film Festival, and we'll continue to finish off our reviews over the weekend, but in the meantime I figured I'd stop by and give you my final thoughts (as a person who attended the fest for the first time this year). SXSW is wayyy different from, say, Sundance or even Tribeca, because there's an unbelievable amount of partying going on ... all the time. You can't leave a screening without seeing a row of about seven bars lined up across the street -- all of which have live music blaring out their doors. Yeah. So it's a bit difficult to see a film, then run home and review it -- because there are several different awesome obstacles in your way. Not that that's a bad thing.

First off, a few films that really need some love:

• Starring John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott, The Promotion was, by far, the funniest film I've seen all year. If you adore Election, then you'll definitely like this flick -- which I've said is like Election ... but in a supermarket ... with older guys.
• I'm not much of a horror guy AT ALL, but Dance of the Dead was one helluva fun flick. So fun that half our Cinematical crew went to see it twice in, like, three days. Of course, watching it at the Alamo Ritz was definitely part of the experience (they shot down confetti during one scene ... and it was super awesome), but the film itself is still one of the more original zombie flicks I've seen since Shaun of the Dead. Very funny. Very well done. (Two words: Graveyard scene.)
• Joe Swanberg's Nights and Weekends was another flick I really enjoyed. Different, unique -- it may piss off those of you looking for structured plots and predictable outcomes, but give it a shot when IFC releases it later this year. (Keep in mind, though, that Joe is fond of "revealing his parts" on screen.)
• I also adored both Super High Me and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I don't think those need the love -- folks will flock regardless of what I say.

After the jump ... I become a superhero and save one thousand half-nekked women from a group of monsters and three psycho nuns -- all while eating BBQ at Iron Works with Weinberg ...

Nights and Weekends marks writer-director Joe Swanberg's fourth consecutive film at the South by Southwest Film Festival, and it's quite possibly his strongest work yet. Here, Swanberg co-directs and stars alongside girl-next-door-with-an-edge Greta Gerwig – and the two play a couple struggling through the highs and lows of a long distance relationship. What we see is what we don't see, if that makes any sense, as Swanberg and Gerwig consciously chose not to hand this one to the audience on a silver platter. Case in point: There's really no narrative at all. One would think a film with no narrative would be the equivalent of recording you and your significant other watching TV on a Friday night – cuddled up, chitter chatter with a pause for a snack here and there.

On the surface, Nights and Weekends is just that – a regular night (or nights) with regular people who talk just like us or them or your friend with the huge crush on that guy we all kinda know. But look a little deeper and Nights and Weekends is so much more than "just another 'Mumblecore' flick about confusing relationships and missed opportunities." Swanberg and Gerwig do a tremendous job tapping into everything we love about our relationships, as well as everything we hate – and they do this with moments, glances, kisses and tears. No score. No set pieces. No set up and payoff. In an interview the morning after the film's world premiere, Swanberg told me that's exactly how he remembers his own life: as random scenes, conversations or smiles – a mixed fruit basket of love, lust, fear and disappointment.