Quickly realising he’s in danger of being side-lined while
all the adults party and relax, Duncan explores further afield and comes across
a nearby water theme-park run by the laid-back Owen (Sam Rockwell) who decides
to take pity on the lonely kid and also take advantage of his trusting nature as the weather improves.
Not wanting to upset his emotionally-vulnerable mother,
Duncan avoids more problems with Trent, but while spending more time at the
water-park, with Owen ultimately improves his confidence, it won’t solve all his problems
and sooner or later there’s going to be a confrontation and some home truths
for everyone…
I mean it as nothing less than the highest compliment that there
is something utterly and wonderfully timeless
about The Way Way Back. With only the slightest change to a few lines of dialogue
or the fashions on show, this is a coming-of-age story that would be just as
home in the 1960s or 1980s as it is today.
Often, family dramas and teenage awkwardness can be boring
on screen, either being too heavy and knowing for escapist entertainment or being
so slight and frivolous that there is an immediate case of boring familiarity. But it is thanks to an ensemble cast at the
top of their game (including relative newcomer Liam James in the lead role,
Steve Carell and Alison Janney – both playing against type - and a great, nuanced
Toni Colette) with the crisp,
non-cynical direction of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash that The Way Way Back works on
so many levels. It has enough bittersweet nostalgia to make a connection with
the adult audience and enough sense of empathy to attract the younger
demographic. The characters aren’t the
archetypes one might initially suspect and there’s a steely strength beneath
the more comfortable furnishings.
Sam Rockwell, already a dab hand at wacky sidekicks, reins in
his performance just enough to be anarchic and entertaining in equal measures,
making theme-park owner Owen simultaneously irritating yet endearing in what
could have been a one-note role.
But with all the talent on show here – and not a single role
in the entire film is wasted – it’s still Liam James that holds it all together, his Duncan trying
to walk the line between keeping the peace and raging against his new lot… and the young actor selling every moment.
It’s the sort of film that is so solidly
paced that you’ll be entertained for the duration: cringing, laughing, frowning
and - when the denouement comes - quietly cheering into your popcorn.
With nary an alien, explosion or superhero in sight, this is
a superb alternative to much of the summer fare. The sort of film that could
well turn into outsider Oscar-bait come the end of the year, it is one of those
unexpected gentle but pointed, poignant treats that should benefit from excellent
word-of-mouth as it continues to roll-out in more and more US cinemas and
enters the UK multiplexes this coming week...
10/10
The Way Way Back (12a) is released by Twentieth Century Fox on 28th August
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