Loved this. Loved loved loved it. Then again, this movie sort of hits me in a personal way, because the main character is basically me as a teenager. Now, my parents never faced serious marital difficulties to which I tried to covertly insinuate myself, but I related to Oliver Tate as a weird, quiet, awkward kid constantly imaging in life as a movie he was starring in.
And most of my identification comes from Craig Roberts' terrific performance. He does a great job conveying Oliver's silent, reserved demeanor that masks the confusion roiling within. Another standout is Paddy Considine as the new-age douchebag tempting Oliver's mother to stray. He has a hilarious magnetic sleaze to him, and the patheticness underneath shows through at exactly the right times.
But what I loved most about the film was how precisely it nails the tone it goes for, of trying to make you feel like you're in the strange wasteland of teenagerdom again. Most of the images are awash in pink tint, making every shot look like an improperly developed polaroid. It puts you in just the right mood, of reminiscence, but untainted by nostalgia. In this way, is an excellent adaptation of the book, which I'd also highly recommend.
It's sweet, it's funny, and often painful, and often some mix of the three. It'll be on my list of favorites at year's end.
