Indeed, the film feels like a wake-up call for the young man, whose artwork leans more toward R. Not unlike Ghost World and American Splendor, Funny Pages wrings wry laughs from the misanthropic milieu of underground comic fans, but there is nothing endearing about Robert and his antisocial cohorts. The two form a fragile bond, although Wallace’s abrasive personality puts the possibility of long-term friendship in serious doubt.Ĭollaborating with co-cinematographer Sean Price Williams, who has frequently shot pictures for Alex Ross Perry and the Safdie brothers, Kline fills his debut with intentionally drab, dilapidated interiors meant to mimic both Robert’s dour mood and his rude awakening about the “real world” away from the comforts of home. Finding a cheap, rancid apartment, Robert lands a job working for a public defender, and becomes intrigued by one of her clients, Wallace (Matthew Maher), who had a violent altercation in a pharmacy but used to work for a comic-book publisher. Uncut Gems filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie serve as producers, which will only add to the film’s hip quotient.Īfter the death of his mentor in a horrendous car accident, teenager Robert (Zolghadri) decides that school no longer interests him, announcing to his suburban New Jersey parents (Maria Dizzia, Josh Pais) that he is moving out so he can focus on cartooning full time. Playing in Directors’ Fortnight, Funny Pages will be released through A24 in the US, catering to an edgy, younger arthouse crowd that will appreciate the picture’s antagonistic tone. Not unlike Ghost World and American Splendor, Funny Pages wrings wry laughs from the misanthropic milieu of underground comic fans An impressive Daniel Zolghadri is resolutely unlovable in the lead role, guiding an ensemble which is determined to leave the audience unsettled - laughter or revulsion are equally acceptable reactions. Following an aspiring comic book artist who decides to drop out of high school and pursue his passion, this bleak comedy is unromantic about the struggles faced by creative people - and the troubled souls they may meet along the way. Five stars.The prickly protagonists of Funny Pages would not be pleasant company in real life, but writer-director Owen Kline’s proudly dyspeptic feature debut gives his characters a scruffy integrity that makes them perversely fascinating. “Deliciously dark … This is a genuinely bizarre, startling, freewheelingly lo-fi and funny indie picture with the refreshing bad-taste impact of Todd Solondz or Robert Crumb. Shooting on Super 16mm (and assisted by Hunter Zimny, who lensed MIFF 2021’s The Scary of Sixty-First), he gives the film a gorgeously grimy feel entirely apt for the depicted down-and-out milieu, while actors Daniel Zolghadri and Matthew Maher are engrossing as a prickly pair who probably deserve each other. In shifting to the other side of the camera, Kline has clearly been influenced by the Safdie brothers, who have hooked the young helmer up with cinematographer to the indie stars Sean Price Williams. Will Wallace live up to the idealistic teen’s expectations, or is Robert about to learn some hard lessons?Īcidly hilarious, Funny Pages is the directorial debut of Owen Kline, the former child actor best known for playing the younger brother in Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale. Finding lodgings in a dingy basement apartment, he delights in meeting Wallace, an ex-colourist for some of his favourite graphic novels. One day, following a traumatic incident, Robert announces to his horrified parents that he’s dropping out of school and moving out. He desperately wants to write and draw comics, but while he’s got the skills, he has no life experience. Seventeen years old and ensconced in suburban comfort, Robert feels creatively stifled. In this Safdies-produced coming-of-age black comedy, a comic-book nerd thinks he’s hit the mentoring/muse jackpot when he meets a cantankerous fiftysomething former colourist.
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