LINK TO PART 1!!!
The film wastes no time introducing its deuteragonist and romantic interest Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), as she discovers a passed-out Sutter laying on one of her paper route’s lawns:
The film wastes no time introducing its deuteragonist and romantic interest Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), as she discovers a passed-out Sutter laying on one of her paper route’s lawns:
Aimee: Hello? Hello?.
Sutter: groggily waking
up …Hi.
Aimee: Hi! Oh, my God you're
alive. I thought for a second that maybe you were dead.
Sutter: I don't think
I'm dead. Where the hell am I?
Aimee: You're in the middle
of a yard. Do you know who lives here?
Sutter: No. Jesus, I
must've fallen asleep... Where the
hell's my car?
Aimee: I don't know. Do you
live around here, Sutter?
Sutter: …How do you
know my name?
Aimee: We go to the same school.
You wouldn't know who I am.
Sutter: No, I know
you. You're…….umm.
Aimee: I'm Aimee. Aimee
Finecky.
Sutter: That's what I
was gonna say. Nice to meet you, Aimee.
Aimee: chuckles Nice
to meet you.
Sutter: …Are you just
getting back from a party or something?
Aimee: No, I'm just on my
paper route. It's not really mine. It's my mom's…
Sutter: Do you need
help?
Aimee: No, I'm okay. Thank
you though.
Sutter: Aimee, you're
gonna drive around the neighborhood... and I don't know where my car is. So I
think that we can help each other out. What do you say?
The initial conversation makes it apparent
that Aimee is introverted, meek, and kind.
She's not one of the popular party kids and is most likely a wallflower
going by her aforementioned personality traits and Sutter not recognizing her
as a fellow classmate. This was not the first performance I saw from Shailene
Woodley, that would go to her role in The Descendants as the strong-willed,
substance-abusing daughter of George Clooney's character. Her performance The Descendants is a
strong and noteworthy one, yet it's her complete one-eighty characterization in
The Spectacular Now that engrained into my head who Shailene Woodley
is. Aimee is a remarkable stark contrast
character to Woodley’s role in The Descendants as well as to Sutter's
character.
The two vastly differing
teenagers have immediate chemistry between them. Sutter, despite just waking up from a drunken
night of partying, displays his charming appeal by complimenting Aimee—noting
how she cheered him up from a rather rotten night—helping with her job by tossing
newspapers out the car window while she drives, and sharing humorous banter
with her. It’s never shown if Sutter
finds his car or not, but it no longer seems to matter to him. It’s as if Sutter has forgotten everything
else in the world, with Aimee becoming the only thing that matters—not in a
sexual/romantic sense mind you (though there’s certainly a building flirtation
between them), but from a person perspective.
Aimee as a person, her life, interests, happiness, seem to be the only
thing that matters to Sutter at the moment—ending with him setting a school
lunch date between the two.
Yet by the
next day Sutter has completely forgotten about the planned lunch and Aimee in
general—trying to make plans with his friend instead. His friend, fortunately, reminds him of the
planned date, noting how odd she is as a choice for a rebound:
Sutter: Dude, she's
not a rebound. She's not. Do I look like I have any interest in dating Aimee
Finecky? I think she's a nice girI... whose mom makes her deliver newspapers 5:00
in the morning, six days a week, pays half the bills. Aimee doesn't say s***
about it.
Friend: That sucks.
Sutter: It's bulls***
is what it is.
Friend: So where do you come
in?
Sutter: I mean, I
think I can help her out.
Sutter believes his own statement
as well, or he at least convinces himself of such. Sutter’s arrogance and bloated
self-importance is his first really noticeable character fault. He’s the cool, popular kid who’s going out of
his way to help the wallflower with a tough life. When eating lunch with her, Sutter is in
control of where their conversation goes—pushing Aimee to talk about herself
and asks what her “thing” is. Once
again, she’s become his only focus, complimenting how she’s a great listener
and showing interest in who she is.
Aimee’s mannerisms and the way she acts could be described as a mirror
to Sutter’s thinking. She sees herself
as the weird wallflower who, by miracle chance, has been noticed by and is
bonding with one of the popular kids.
She falls hook, line, and sinker for Sutter’s charm and good looks. When Sutter asks her to tell a story, Aimee
immediately tries telling a time she saw Sutter doing something funny. When Sutter clarifies he meant a story about
herself, Aimee dodges the question, perhaps out of insecurity that he’ll find
her bland or strange.
Both are approaching this
relationship in an unhealthy manner—Sutter thinks he’s superior, Aimee thinks
she’s inferior—but it’s also very realistic for their age setting (I’ve been on
and can relate to both sides here).
Aimee’s friend Krystal (Kaitlyn Dever), however, can see right through
Sutter’s charm—and doesn’t hide her disapproval for Aimee’s new crush. It certainly doesn’t help appearances when
Sutter asks Aimee if she can help tutor him in math, which she quickly agrees to. While this certainly looks Machiavellian on
Sutter’s part, it was only right before the date that Sutter’s math teacher
confronted him about flunking class.
While it could be argued this is the only reason Sutter got lunch with
Aimee, I don’t believe this to be the case.
As will be made clearer throughout, current Sutter does not scheme for
the future, though he will certainly take advantage of the current situation.
Sutter works at a clothing store
where he presumably gets all his funds for buying alcohol and partying—drinking
on the job by using a plastic cup as a disguise. His boss Dan (bob Odenkirk, another
noteworthy celebrity I completely forgot was in the film) shares an amicable
relationship with Sutter, almost fatherly as the two jokingly note:
Sutter: When are you
gonna adopt me?
Dan: I'm sorry. Two's my
limit on mouths to feed.
Sutter: Okay. Offer's
still there.
Dan: What were we talking
about?
Sutter: Cassidy.
Dan: Yeah. I liked her.
Sutter: Yeah. Me too.
Dan: Kinda thought she'd be
the one to yank you out of neutral.
Sutter: NeutraI? What
are you talking about? Dan, I'm in overdrive.
There’s a much later scene that
occurs here that I want to touch upon now.
While working, Sutter finds himself confronted by Cassie’s new boyfriend
Marcus (Dayo Okeniyi) who demands to know what's going on between him and
Cassidy. Marcus hasn't had much screen
time in the film, so when the jock barges in here with an aggressive tone, it
gives the impression Sutter’s about to get his ass kicked. Yet that's not what happens, and I love what
does. Max-level charisma Sutter is able
to calm Marcus down, reassuring the jock that nothing has happened between
them. Marcus then suddenly ends up spilling
his heart out to Sutter, noting his insecurities with his relationship and how
he wishes Cassidy looked at him the way she looked at Sutter:
Marcus: Why can't it be me
that she has fun with? I'm not like you. I don't know how to make her laugh.
Sutter: Dude, you are
Marcus West, man. You're the star athlete. You're the class president. You are awesome!
What's the name of that charity that you started?
Marcus: The Hope Squadron.
Sutter: The f***ing
Hope Squadron, man! That is awesome! You do not need my help. You're the man.
Marcus: No, it's not the
same. The way she talks about you, man. I want her to like me like that, and
she doesn't.
Sutter: Trust me. You
don't want to be like me. I make jokes, yeah. But, I mean, you get s*** done.
You're gonna change the world. You and Cass are perfect together. Trust me.
You're just too tense, man. A little tense. You gotta loosen up. You know?
Marcus: Yeah. Maybe.
Sutter: Not
everything has to be so serious. I'm just saying you can relax. You know?
You're awesome. Enjoy being who you are. Live in the now.
Not only is this conversation a
great subversion from where one would expect the confrontation to go, but it
also beautifully defines who Sutter is—strengths and faults. The Spectacular Now refers to Sutter’s
mindset, a man that lives in the moment and makes the best of it. Whatever that moment is he puts his all into
it, whether it be partying, helping his friend get a date, or cheering up
Marcus. Being all about the now,
however, comes with the price of not thinking nor caring about the future. Sutter does not think about the consequences
of his current actions, nor care for the consequences that life will inevitably
bring. He’s teenage Peter Pan in a way—never
wanting to grow up, believing this to be the best time of his life. When his math teacher asks if he even wants
to graduate, Sutter honestly replies “I don't know. Everyone's telling me I
gotta move on. I don't see what's so great about being an adult.” Sutter does think about the past, however,
such as his father who walked out of his life as a child (making Sutter’s
relationship with Dan more meaningful than it initially seems) and Cassidy, who
he is far from over. His words to Marcus
then are not entirely honest as there’s more between Sutter and Cassidy than he
lets on and it’s doubtful he believes Marcus and Cassidy to be a perfect
couple. Sutter always says what he
believes to be the best thing in the moment—whether or not he believes it or
plans on following through in the future.
The next day Sutter heads over to Aimee's
house for their tutoring session, the latter's nerdiness on full display when
they get to her room. I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to fictional
teenagers that are into manga, even when the manga’s portrayal isn’t necessarily
accurate. Yet The Spectacular Now
handles Aimee's manga interest in a brilliant fashion that shouldn’t upset anybody
because the manga in question doesn’t really exist. Writer Michael Manning designed, scripted, and drew a six-page science-fiction shoujo-style manga called Gleaming Planet—the fictional series Aimee is into,
complete with it being read right to left as Japanese comics are—just for the
film. It allows the writers to makeup
and say whatever they want about the manga and be absolutely right because it’s
their story.
Discarding this real-life
roadblock allows the writers to put full focus on what really matters here as Sutter
picks up and reacts to the comic. I love
how Aimee immediately downplays her love for Gleaming Planet and calls
it really weird. It’s something I did
many times throughout high school—restraining to completely denying my love for
manga for fear of people judging me as weird (which I totally am and now wholly
accept as a positive). Woodley does a
great job conveying the right expressions of insecurity and embarrassment at
Sutter discovering her “thing”. Yet nice
guy Sutter displays not a hint of judgment, telling
Aimee he embraces the weird and showing genuine interest in the comic. At first, Sutter seems to be saying merely
what Aimee would want to hear, but then he does something unusual for his
character—going out and buying Gleaming Planet on his own initiative,
giving it a read while alone in his house.
Yet complications arise when
Cassidy contacts Sutter online—noting how she misses him. Sutter ends up taking Aimee to an outdoor
party that Cassidy happens to also be at.
The self-centered wheels in Sutter’s head begin to turn here as he tries
to get his cake and eat it too. Bringing
Aimee to a party is a great way to help break her shell. When she shows uncertainty about drinking
alcohol—stating “I don’t really drink” which is insecure teenage code for “I’ve
barely/never drank before but I don’t want to look lame by admitting it”—Sutter
puts no direct peer pressure on her, instead advising to merely carry around a
red solo cup to give the illusion she's drinking to fit in better with the
crowd. He then smoothly introduces Aimee
to some nice guys who also read Gleaming Planet. With Aimee comfortably discussing her hobbies
with others, Sutter moves away to talk with Cassidy. Plan success, except no because Marcus shows
up and ends up leaving with Cassidy.
I’ve yet to
discuss Miles Teller’s performance, and it is somewhat easy to overlook it when
his co-star is displaying such a fantastic range (as I did in my initial review). Yet Teller’s performance here is vital to the
story’s effectiveness as it gives Sutter an extreme case of likability. Writing a charismatic character is tricky
enough, but effectively acting like one is a whole other level. The key to Sutter’s success is Teller’s
ability to make the audience fall for him despite the character’s less-desirable
traits—and Teller wildly succeeds at doing so to the point where these traits
are initially invisible. All these
faults I’ve been pointing out about Sutter comes from multiple viewings and
analyzing the film for this review. I
barely noticed most of them on my first viewing, at least not until the final
act. My initial tackling of this review
focused more on Sutter’s genuine kindness, and it wasn’t until I really broke
apart his scenes that the more arrogant and self-centered aspects became
clearer. Yet Teller does such a good job
making Sutter endearing and empathetic that I was as blind as Aimee to his
issues.
Take
how Teller fully conveys Sutter’s thoughts through non-verbal actions alone
when Cassidy leaves. There’s clear
frustration as he downs a cup before lightly tossing another one in frustration
(trying not to make a scene) before seeing another guy hitting it off with
Aimee. He looks longingly back at
Cassidy, before sighing, taking a drink, and walking over to Aimee—stealing her
for a walk as the other teen calls Sutter a “motherf***er” under his
breath. Everything Sutter’s doing here
is arguably wrong—trying to steal Cassidy back while she’s dating, stringing
Aimee along, showing envy when another guy tries flirting with Aimee despite
ditching her at the party—but it’s all done in a very understandable and even
relatable fashion. Cassidy was, up until
that point, the best thing that had ever happened to Sutter—and is making it
hard for him to move on when she keeps contacting him with crazy mixed
signals—so, naturally, he’s not easily letting it go. Aimee is so contrasting from what he’s used
to as well as his own personality that he’s further conflicted over whether
she’s right for him. And yet, there’s
definitely something there that he likes about Aimee as it keeps pulling him
back to her. Teller does a great job
conveying such wishy-washy feelings all in one non-verbal moment.
The walk scene between Sutter and
Aimee is the best scene in the film and has a great bit of everything in it. When I first saw The Spectacular Now, it
was this scene that really stuck out for me (positively)—watching it again, the
scene is so much better than I remembered. It opens with Sutter dropping his red solo
cup in favor of a pocket flask full of heavy liquor. While Sutter has placed no direct peer
pressure on Aimee, the passive act of him drinking is influence enough for the
teen—desiring to fit in with her infatuation and impress him:
Aimee: Can I try that?
Sutter: What, this?
This is pretty serious stuff.
Aimee: Just a taste.
Sutter: Are you sure?
All right. Here you go. It's pretty strong.
Aimee: Aimee’s face
completely puckers up in disgust Oh, my God. Ew.
Sutter: Yeah. I know!
I told you.
Aimee: How do you drink
that?
Sutter: I don't know.
I've just been doing it for a while.
Sutter reveals it was his father
who first gave him alcohol at around six-years-old when they would go to watch
baseball games together. Sutter shows
pride over his father’s clearly irresponsible action—being his only true memory
of his dad, with drinking being connected to a happier time when he was still
in Sutter’s life. When Aimee asks more
about his father, Sutter makes up a lie about him being an airline pilot (hence
why he’s never around). Aimee reveals she
was recently accepted to a college yet can't go because her mother needs her at
home. Sutter once again pushes her to
stand up for herself, resulting in an adorkably funny scene where he tries
coaching Aimee to tell her mom to “get off her motherf***ing back”. Sweet, innocent Aimee initially can't bring
herself to even practice say f*** when repeating the sentence, yet through
Sutter’s amicable positivity—and a bit of liquid confidence—is able to boldly
shout it out loud, albeit through a lot of giggling.
What makes this scene work so
brilliantly is the level of improvisation between the two actors. The scene is shot using one long camera take
of Sutter and Aimee walking away from the party down a trail into the woods. The scene is almost four minutes long, and
while a script is being followed, there’s a clear amount of verbal and
nonverbal improvisation going on. This
is one of James Ponsoldt’s major strengths as a director—allowing his actors to
have flexibility and input for their characters and scenes. It turned The End of the Tour from a
good script to a great film and transforms this scene into a lovely display of teenagers
naturally bonding in goofy awkwardness.
When Sutter pushes Aimee to shout her frustrations about other people,
Teller continues ad-libbing on as her hype man—yelling additional obscenities as
she shouts, causing the actors to both break into genuine chuckles.
The environment itself plays a
wonderful part in the improv. There's a
moment where Sutter tries pushing Aimee to shout about ex-boyfriends that have
pissed her off, only for her to reveal she’s never had any boyfriends. All normal script behavior here, except
Teller just happens to stop walking right below a tree branch with its leaves
dangling in his hair. Teller tries
ignoring it, but Woodley becomes clearly distracted by the sight—trying to push
the leaves out of his hair, causing both to laugh as Teller holds the branch
away with his hand. The script continues
with Aimee noting how boys don’t look at her that way, while Sutter points out
the previous guys who were just hitting on her.
Aimee continues bashfully denying that claim until Sutter moves in for a
big damn kiss.
Two things. First, Teller moves closer to Woodley—within
her personal space—to get away from the leaves, giving the romantic occurrence
a very natural progression. Second, a
clearly visible bug flies into frame just as they share the kiss—flying right
into Teller’s ear. Teller reactively
goes to flick the bug away immediately after the kiss, causing Woodley to laugh
and Teller to awkwardly chuckle as the scene cuts to black. That’s how their first kiss ends, not with
the pair romantically staring into each other’s eyes, but with a distracting
bug and some uncertain laughs. It’s
incredibly sincere and true-to-life. If
I were a betting man, I’d wager the camera cuts to black quickly because the
actors break character right around that moment from the increasingly goofy
situation—yet the makers saw the potency in such genuineness and decided to
keep the scene in. If this is the case,
then thank goodness they did. These are
real reactions from the actors that cannot be fully replicated again. The scene is imperfectly perfect—with solid writing
and effective camera work amplified by great acting and sprinkles of delightful
realism.
LINK TO PART 3!!!
LINK TO PART 3!!!
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