There are far more "Little Miss Sunshines" or "Sideways" than we might think. Good movies like the two mentioned titles, I think, because of time and place (and other factors, of course; but it depends on the year) end up occupying a privileged position they might not completely deserve. I men, they do deserve it; it's just that there are many movies that could share the same luck. I think Mike Cahill's "King of California", (not) coincidentally produced by Alexander Payne, is one of those films.
Not planning to blow our minds in any way, with a true love for cinema and his characters, writer/director Cahill delivers an intimate, delicate and complex story in his directorial debut, set in the sunny sceneries of Los Angeles, California. After we've experienced a rich use of music, filled with amiable guitars and acoustic songs that reflect the piece's mood, it's not until the very end that Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) makes clear that we are, indeed, in California; but we have the film's title in our head and, even so, it doesn't seem to matter where the events take place. Miranda becomes responsible for the narration, as we go with her to a mental institution. His father is leaving the place and moving back in with her. She calls him Charlie (Michael Douglas). Charlie believes there's a treasure hidden somewhere; he wants to look for it and his daughter, not without reason, accepts he's totally mad.
What's important, though, it's that the environment is sunny. We all know by now, as viewers, that independent American cinema deals very much with dysfunctional families and beings. Therefore, we don't need it to get darker than the first impression we have because it will always be more interesting and original to see something falling apart in the light of day than amongst a disturbing and (maybe) forced obscurity. Jonathan and Valerie Faris knew this very well, Alexander Payne is a master in the subject and Mike Cahill also seems to understand how the 'device' (if you want to give a name to it) works.
That said, it's also fair to admit that it's not always that a father-teenage daughter relationship is the core and reason to be of a movie. It's typical to expect that kind of development as a subplot, and most of the time it's very superficial. In "King of California", Miranda and her father are the only existing players. Of course, there's the obligatory contact with the outer world, but the fact that Charlie is insane and his daughter ends up following him anywhere makes one believe they might live in a parallel universe...That is, until from time to time a cop or security guard warns them because of the wild activities they're performing (this is something you have to watch).
Michael Douglas is one of the best, or the few veteran actors -Alec Baldwin comes to mind- at doing something quite complex to achieve and difficult to explain: laughing of themselves. Douglas came up with this during this decade, partly, I believe, because it builds credibility, to an extent. It's easy to perceive: it involves laughing all the time; and in a movie like this one it's delightful to see Douglas having the time of his life. And Evan Rachel Wood is always a good companion, as a daughter mostly, bringing out the best in his pairs (Holly Hunter in "Thirteen", Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler", Joan Allen in "The Upside of Anger") and illuminating every scene she's in.
It's a very difficult theme to manage, this kind of relationship as the center of a picture. There's the risk of too many scenes with tears and references to the past that might be unnecessary in the first place and indicative secondly. Pay attention to the flashbacks in "King of California" to seek for a precise and effective creation of emotion through the resource. I compliment Cahill and expect more from him next time.
Not planning to blow our minds in any way, with a true love for cinema and his characters, writer/director Cahill delivers an intimate, delicate and complex story in his directorial debut, set in the sunny sceneries of Los Angeles, California. After we've experienced a rich use of music, filled with amiable guitars and acoustic songs that reflect the piece's mood, it's not until the very end that Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) makes clear that we are, indeed, in California; but we have the film's title in our head and, even so, it doesn't seem to matter where the events take place. Miranda becomes responsible for the narration, as we go with her to a mental institution. His father is leaving the place and moving back in with her. She calls him Charlie (Michael Douglas). Charlie believes there's a treasure hidden somewhere; he wants to look for it and his daughter, not without reason, accepts he's totally mad.
What's important, though, it's that the environment is sunny. We all know by now, as viewers, that independent American cinema deals very much with dysfunctional families and beings. Therefore, we don't need it to get darker than the first impression we have because it will always be more interesting and original to see something falling apart in the light of day than amongst a disturbing and (maybe) forced obscurity. Jonathan and Valerie Faris knew this very well, Alexander Payne is a master in the subject and Mike Cahill also seems to understand how the 'device' (if you want to give a name to it) works.
That said, it's also fair to admit that it's not always that a father-teenage daughter relationship is the core and reason to be of a movie. It's typical to expect that kind of development as a subplot, and most of the time it's very superficial. In "King of California", Miranda and her father are the only existing players. Of course, there's the obligatory contact with the outer world, but the fact that Charlie is insane and his daughter ends up following him anywhere makes one believe they might live in a parallel universe...That is, until from time to time a cop or security guard warns them because of the wild activities they're performing (this is something you have to watch).
Michael Douglas is one of the best, or the few veteran actors -Alec Baldwin comes to mind- at doing something quite complex to achieve and difficult to explain: laughing of themselves. Douglas came up with this during this decade, partly, I believe, because it builds credibility, to an extent. It's easy to perceive: it involves laughing all the time; and in a movie like this one it's delightful to see Douglas having the time of his life. And Evan Rachel Wood is always a good companion, as a daughter mostly, bringing out the best in his pairs (Holly Hunter in "Thirteen", Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler", Joan Allen in "The Upside of Anger") and illuminating every scene she's in.
It's a very difficult theme to manage, this kind of relationship as the center of a picture. There's the risk of too many scenes with tears and references to the past that might be unnecessary in the first place and indicative secondly. Pay attention to the flashbacks in "King of California" to seek for a precise and effective creation of emotion through the resource. I compliment Cahill and expect more from him next time.