WHO’S IN IT?
Paul Rudd (This Is 40), Emile Hirsch (Into The Wild), Lance LeGault (The A-Team), Joyce Payne (film debut), Gina Grande (film debut), Lynn Shelton (Safety Not Guaranteed)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express), director, writer, co-producer; James Belfer (Like Crazy), Lisa Muskat (Shotgun Stories), Derrick Tseng (Palindromes) and Craig Zobel (Compliance), producers; Explosions in the Sky (Friday Night Lights) and David Wingo (Take Shelter), composers; Tim Orr (Your Highness), cinematographer; Colin Patton (film debut), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Two highway workers, the meditative and stern Alvin (Rudd) and the dopey and insecure Lance (Hirsch), spend their summer of 1988 away from their city lives repainting a highway road savaged by a wildfire. The isolated landscape soon becomes a backdrop for misadventure, as both men find themselves at odds against one another as they learn more about their individual lives…
WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
Considered as something of an indie darling with earlier films like George Washington and All The Real Girls, David Gordon Green surprised most people in the industry when he suddenly went mainstream with the 2008 stoner comedy Pineapple Express. Spawning from that, he started work on Danny McBride’s HBO show Eastbound & Down as a recurring director and consulting producer, but is also known for directing the lesser-received comedies Your Highness and The Sitter. After the critical mauling of that last film, a return to the indie format was always on the cards for Gordon Green if he was to put his feet on the ground once more.
Prince Avalanche was the perfect project to do just that for the director, with a minimalist cast and crew as well as an isolated location setting the foundations for a film that is truly disconnected from the Hollywood system. Filmed in secret last year, the film is actually a loose remake of the Icelandic film Either Way which, while not widely seen, was met with decent enough reception in its native country. Such is the way with its new American counterpart, with critics praising the film for its less-is-more approach and the strength of its two prominent lead actors’ shoulders on which they carry the movie.
Those actors would be Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, both of whom have their fair share of experience in the independent movie-making department. Hirsch in particular, with his performances in Into The Wild, Taking Woodstock and the forthcoming The Motel Life being excellent examples. But Rudd is accomplished in his own right, mixing high-brow comedies like Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall with much more dramatic pieces like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Romeo + Juliet. Both are said to work extremely well off each other and, as stated, carry the film with their awkwardly heartfelt chemistry.
The film is also renowned for being the final project for A-Team veteran Lance LeGault, who sadly passed away shortly after filming wrapped. Here, he plays a rare outside character credited only as “Truck Driver”, who plays a small but vital role in the journey our main characters go through. It’s a bittersweet movie for any fans of the late actor, who will want to see the character actor bow out with minimalist style.
Prince Avalanche might just be one of the smallest films of the season, with only two lead actors and a location that defines the word “isolated”. But for David Gordon Green, it’s a refreshing wake-up call to remind him of what he truly admires about the art of filmmaking, and a friendly reminder that the rest of his career doesn’t have to be churning out studio projects like The Sitter. We should at least give him the courtesy of giving him support for his dreams.
