SMASHED (2012)

Director:
James Ponsoldt

Writer:

James Ponsoldt
Susan Burke

Starring:
Aaron Paul
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Octavia Spencer and others

Now it is a fact well established that I am a LAZY writer. It's not for lack of ideas, but lack of proper motivation required to follow through. Every once in a while I come across a movie which serves as a perfect catalyst. Smashed is one of them.

It is really surprising as to how easily good movies go unnoticed. Smashed has to be one of the most beautifully directed movies of all time. Each frame is a constant reminder of just how talented Ponsoldt is. The movie is poetry on celluloid.

The characters are well etched out and one cares for them, unlike other movies dealing with alcoholics. Here over the top scenes in which the people realize that alcohol is ruining them, are replaced with scenes in which one just makes an observation and decides to do something about it. Subtlety is an art and Ponsoldt its master.

Now I could go on and on about his direction but that would be unfair to Mary Elizabeth Winstead whose performance is so powerful that it captivates us even hours after the movie. The climax sequence is exquisitely enacted by both the leads (and did I mention beautifully captured somewhere before!). Go and watch this movie. Frankly it's one of the better ways to spend eighty minutes of your life. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of his next, The Spectacular Now.  

Pranit’s Rating: 8/10