SXSW Film Preview: Cyrus

If you were creating the ultimate film festival movie, you might come up with the crew of Cyrus: written and directed by returning festival darlings and ex-Austin residents Mark and Jay Duplass, starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener, and…Jonah Hill? Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

But by the end of the film, you’ll wonder why you ever doubted. Audiences and critics alike at this year’s Sundance had an overwhelmingly positive response to Hill’s portrayal of the titular character. As a 22-year old man still living with his extremely overprotective mom, Hill walks a line between sweet, pathetic, creepy, and hilarious, without ever veering into parody or cheese. Not an easy task.

The story is about a bumbling, socially dysfunctional divorcee (Reilly) trying to get back into the dating scene to get past the pain of watching his ex-wife remarry. He hits it off with Molly (Tomei), a pretty woman that would probably be out of his league under normal circumstances, but who is looking to settle down, and sees something good in him. It seems like the perfect match…until Cyrus makes his presence felt. What follows is a push-pull power play for a place in Molly’s life. Is there room for them both?

More on Cyrus, screening time(s) and trailer after the jump!

The performances are solid, just as you would expect from a cast this strong. The Duplass brothers (The Puffy Chair, Baghead) bring their usual free-flowing style to the picture, letting the actors improvise and allowing the scenes to flow naturally, keeping it funny but real. The story is alternately hilarious, awkward, sad, disturbing, touching, and funny all in the space of a few minutes.

This film has already wowed critics and probably has played a crucial role in broadening Hill’s career aspirations. It only takes a few seconds on IMDB to see he’s got a lot of irons in the fire. He’s wise to strike while those irons are hot. Get in and see this performance—and this excellent film—now, before the rest of the country does.

Cyrus screens Saturday, March 13th at 9:30 PM at the Paramount Theater. For the full schedule, see my.SXSW or B-Side.