Netflix Pick – James White
The Netflix Pick is back! I took a couple weeks off to get married! So much excitement with exclamation points. Thanks to the So Wizard crew for all the positive vibes and the shout out. Very cool.
Your Netflix account has likely been collecting dust without this segment so here we go. Finished with the new Voltron and the latest season of Orange is the New Black? Good news! I found a personal drama with some really strong characterization. James White follows the titular character, a completely self-destructive man who has to get his act together when his mother’s severe cancer makes a strong comeback.
Written and Directed by Josh Mond, a relative newcomer to the industry, James White is a very strong showing for the director’s fourth film and only third feature. The real magic in James White is how captivating the movie is. There are no Hollywood A-listers, the writer/director is new, and the story is all and all a downer. That being said, every element of this movie joins with the others for a truly impressive film about a real human struggle. Movies are either to escape or relate. Everyone can relate to some aspect of James White even if your life experiences haven’t touched the subject matter.
James (Christopher Abbott) is a twenty-something year old New Yorker. He doesn’t have a job, is heavy into drugs, drinks, and does anything else he can to dull emotional pain. He isn’t connected with the world and doesn’t want to be. Boozing, drugging, and hooking up in clubs keep him busy but you can tell he isn’t even a fan of his own choices. He has some loyal friends in Nick (Scott Mescudi) and Ben (Ron Livingston). These friends tolerate James’s behavior to a point but he even begins to drive them away. When his mother, Gail (Cynthia Nixon) calls with the news that her cancer is back, stronger than ever, and terminal, James begins to reassess things. The process isn’t pretty or smooth. A selfish man such as this can’t change overnight, and that’s where James White really shines.
Christopher Abbott is likely not a name you’ll recognize but the talent he shows in James White along with his supporting role in A Most Violent Year prove that he is someone you should be looking out for. The self-destructive tendencies are handled with care and the pain inside the man is always prevalent without chewing the scenery. When Abbott begins to change his outlook the strength of the script and the strength of the actor come together for a performance so engaging it alone will keep you interested in the movie. Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, and Ron Livingston round out the supporting cast and really lift the performance of Abbott while delivering solid performances of their own.
Nixon may be the biggest name in the movie. Her turn as Gail White is as memorable as any supporting actresses performance could be. The disease ravaging her mind and body is portrayed with such care, the audience buys in fully. She slips into mental lapses and these scenes are truly heartbreaking. She is hard on her son at times and since the film follows James it’s no mystery why. Mescudi is better known as a musical performer. He plays the enabling friend to James’s destructive lifestyle. At first his character is fairly two-dimensional. The real acting begins whenever this fellow partier has had enough of James’s wasteful ways. Ron Livingston was a surprise. Livingston has had some incredible roles throughout his career. His portrayal of Ben is understated and solid. He’s the ground to all the drama and insanity that circles the film.
While the soul of this movie is in the performances and the delicate way it handles some very real issues there is something left to be said for the way the film was shot. Film is, afterall, a visual medium. The up close and semi-shaky handycam style footage on the lead character isolates him in the frame, even when he’s completely surrounded by people. The drab lighting, dull sets, and washed out colorization slowly gives way to cleaner looking shots that are less focused on James himself. As James comes around as a man the film itself feels more open. You can’t go as far to say uplifting or positive, James White isn’t that black and white. The subtleties in the shooting enhance the already strong script.
Granted James White is a bit of a downer but the realism involved doesn’t leave you sitting on your couch as the credits roll wondering why you put yourself through such a depressing movie. It’s not uplifting but it doesn’t cast you down either. It’s a film that resonates with you in its storytelling and performances more than the very real feelings it evokes.
