POSSIBLE LIGHT SPOILER
As others here have said, this is one of the best new films (certainly one of the best American indies) I have seen in quite a long time: fresh, original, moving.
Rather than repeat what's already been said about the plot, the acting, the structure, etc., the thing that I find most amazing about the film is this: Harvey is a bizarre guy, but not so bizarre that we can't relate. When we see him lose his cool, often engaging in ultimately self-destructive behavior, we can recognize our own similar tendencies and learn from the film. In a parallel fashion, it becomes clear that by dramatizing his own life in comic books, Harvey himself is able to improve himself and find a measure of happiness. Thus the process of narrating his own true story proves therapeutic for Harvey as well as for his audience.
Seeing the film prompted me to check out an anthology of Pekar's comics, which are terrific.
As others here have said, this is one of the best new films (certainly one of the best American indies) I have seen in quite a long time: fresh, original, moving.
Rather than repeat what's already been said about the plot, the acting, the structure, etc., the thing that I find most amazing about the film is this: Harvey is a bizarre guy, but not so bizarre that we can't relate. When we see him lose his cool, often engaging in ultimately self-destructive behavior, we can recognize our own similar tendencies and learn from the film. In a parallel fashion, it becomes clear that by dramatizing his own life in comic books, Harvey himself is able to improve himself and find a measure of happiness. Thus the process of narrating his own true story proves therapeutic for Harvey as well as for his audience.
Seeing the film prompted me to check out an anthology of Pekar's comics, which are terrific.
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