Restless (2011 film)
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''Restless'' is a 2011 American
romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...
directed by
Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...
, written by Jason Lew, and produced by
Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated fo ...
,
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
and his daughter
Bryce Dallas Howard Bryce Dallas Howard (born March 2, 1981) is an American actress and director. Howard was born in Los Angeles and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, initially leaving in 2002 to take roles on Broadway but officially graduati ...
. The film stars Henry Hopper and
Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...
, with
Ryō Kase is a Japanese actor. Early life Kase was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. He moved to Bellevue, Washington in the United States soon after his birth, due to his father's job being transferred. He's father Yutaka Kase was former chairman a ...
,
Schuyler Fisk Schuyler Elizabeth Fisk (pronounced ) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Early life Fisk was born in Los Angeles, California, to actress Sissy Spacek and production designer Jack Fisk. She has a younger sister named Madison. Fisk b ...
, and Jane Adams playing supporting roles. The film was shot in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
. ''Restless'' had its world premiere at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2011, where it was presented in the
Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...
section. It was theatrically released in the United States on September 16, 2011, by
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...
.


Plot

Teenager Enoch Brae takes the death of his parents hard and lives with his aunt and guardian Mabel. A year ago, his parents died in a car accident, while he himself experienced
clinical death Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two criteria necessary to sustain the lives of human beings and of many other organisms. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a conditio ...
and was in a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
for a month. Enoch does not go to school (he was expelled after a fight with a student who spoke badly about his dead parents) and has an unusual hobby—attending strangers' funerals; he also befriends the ghost of
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
pilot Hiroshi, whom he began to see after waking from his coma. At one of the funerals, he meets teenage girl Annabel. After they grow closer, Annabel tells him she is a volunteer at a hospital for children with
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, and they start spending time together. Later, Annabel confesses that she lied: she herself suffers from
brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...
and has three months to live. Enoch tells Annabel that he can help her get ready and offers to spend this time as fun as possible. Their relationship becomes romantic, and Enoch no longer needs to attend funerals and spend all his time with a ghost. Onсе the couple quarrels and Enoch, deeply traumatized by the theme of death, realizes that he will soon lose Annabel like his parents. In desperation, he destroys the monument to his parents and demands Annabel's doctor help her. Meanwhile, Annabel is getting worse, and the couple reunite in the hospital. Enoch reconciles with his aunt, and sees for the last time Hiroshi, who decides to accompany Annabel on her last journey. Annabel dies, but Enoch is left with a memory of their short relationship that changed him and his attitude to life.


Cast

* Henry Hopper as Enoch Brae *
Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...
as Annabel "Annie" Cotton *
Ryō Kase is a Japanese actor. Early life Kase was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. He moved to Bellevue, Washington in the United States soon after his birth, due to his father's job being transferred. He's father Yutaka Kase was former chairman a ...
as Hiroshi Takahashi, a ghost and Enoch's friend *
Schuyler Fisk Schuyler Elizabeth Fisk (pronounced ) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Early life Fisk was born in Los Angeles, California, to actress Sissy Spacek and production designer Jack Fisk. She has a younger sister named Madison. Fisk b ...
as Elizabeth Cotton, Annabel's older sister * Jane Adams as Mabel Tell, Enoch's aunt and guardian * Chin Han as Dr. Lee, Annabel's physician *
Lusia Strus Lusia Strus (born December 13, 1969) is an American writer and stage and film actress with Neo-Futurists. Childhood and work as a theater actress Strus was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a Ukrainian family. She spoke Ukrainian as her first lang ...
as Rachel Cotton, Annabel and Elizabeth's mother


Production


Pre-production and casting

The film was produced through
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...
and
Imagine Entertainment Imagine Entertainment (formerly Imagine Films Entertainment), also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard. Background Brian Gra ...
by daughter and father
Bryce Dallas Howard Bryce Dallas Howard (born March 2, 1981) is an American actress and director. Howard was born in Los Angeles and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, initially leaving in 2002 to take roles on Broadway but officially graduati ...
and
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
, as well as
Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated fo ...
. In August 2009,
Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American film director, producer, photographer, and musician. He has earned acclaim as both an independent and mainstream filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultur ...
signed on to direct ''Restless''. Based on a play by Jason Lew, the story centers on young love and mortality. Lew and Bryce Dallas Howard were fellow drama students at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
; she encouraged him to take his project further and agreed to be a producer on the script. Her father Ron wanted to direct, but his schedule did not allow for it. "It was honestly like, 'If we could get a Gus Van Sant-type director...' That's what we were saying. We never thought we would actually get him to direct it," Bryce Dallas Howard said in an interview for the film's soundtrack release. "But he said yes immediately, and five weeks later we were shooting." Casting was done in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
with the intention of casting unknowns for the leads. In October 2009,
Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...
joined the project as the female lead. Wasikowska cut her hair for the film. The following November, Henry Hopper was cast as the male lead.


Filming

Principal photography began in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
on November 12, 2009 and concluded in December. Post-production was completed in July 2010.
Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
composed the score. Henry Hopper's father,
Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...
, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2009 and eventually died from the disease on 29 May 2010,. The film was dedicated to his memory.


Soundtrack

In 2013 La-La Land Records released a limited edition album of
Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...
's score. Track listing (the titles are intentionally all in lower case): # titles 2:41 # battleship 1:09 # reconciliation 1:26 # sorry for your loss 1:54 # waterbirds 1:43 # meet the parents 2:20 # on the beach 2:09 # hiroshima 1:06 # morning affair 1:33 # morgue 1:18 # crime scene 2:45 # death scene 2:06 # happy dead girl 1:11 # battleship 2 1:50 # a ghost 1:00 # the letter 1:34 # parents' grave 1:49 # weepy donuts 3:31 # enoch's goodbye 1:21


Release

A trailer was released in October 2010. ''Restless'' was initially scheduled for release on January 28, 2011, but Columbia announced that they had pulled it from that slot in hopes of opening it later in the year. Columbia consequently withdrew the film from the 2011
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
lineup as well. The film opened the
Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...
section of the
2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...
on May 12. ''Restless'' was released on September 16, 2011 by
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...
.


Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 24, 2012. In addition to numerous featurettes, the Blu-ray release also contains a silent version of the film. The silent version runs at 76 minutes and contains takes in which Van Sant asked the actors to act as if there was a silent version of the script.


Reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 38% based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "
Mia Wasikowska Mia Wasikowska ( ; born 25 October 1989) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut on the Australian television drama '' All Saints'' in 2004, followed by her feature film debut in '' Suburban Mayhem'' (2006). She first became known t ...
puts in a nuanced performance but nobody else, actors and directors included, are capable of finding a compelling angle beneath the twee veneer." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has an average score of 47 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Noted film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
(''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'') gave the film 3/4 stars and called it "wholly fresh and beguiling". Critic
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' gave the film 2.5/4 stars: "Wasikowska, from ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' to ''
Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
'', is an actress of translucent expressiveness. And Hopper has his father’s brooding intensity and a quicksilver humor all his own. They are both so good, I suggest you dive into the story unfolding in their eyes rather than the banal one in the script." Film critic
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
described ''Restless'' as "an emotionally rewarding experience: strong performances from leads Henry Hopper and Mia Wasikowska and a tender love story conveyed with genuine feeling". Sheri Linden of
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
described ''Restless'' as "Director Gus Van Sant's attempt to bring an indie spirit to screenwriter Jason Lew's pedestrian romantic drama. ..The insistently quirky details don't disguise the fact that the drama grows ever more predictable and precious, complete with falling-in-love montage."
Ann Hornaday Ann Hornaday is an American film critic. She has been film critic at ''The Washington Post'' since 2002 and is the author of ''Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies'' (2017). In 2008, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Ear ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote: "Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper - making an assured debut - manage to deliver distinctive performances here as wise, attractively troubled teenagers ..They manage to bring winsome charm to "Restless". Jake Coyle of ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'' wrote: "Hopper, who handles humor well and has something of his father's roguishness, and Wasikowska, the fine young actress of ''Jane Eyre'' and ''
In Treatment ''In Treatment'' is an American drama television series for HBO, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia, based on the Israeli series ''BeTipul'' ( he, בטיפול), created by Hagai Levi, Ori Sivan and Nir Bergman. The series is about a ps ...
'', are well matched. ..Nevertheless, the material isn't up to Van Sant's abilities, and the impression of ''Restless'' is of a filmmaker playing with familiar themes". Film critic
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
wrote: "''Restless'' adds to my ever-growing admiration for Mia Wasikowska and provides a pleasant sense of discovery in seeing Dennis Hopper’s son acquit himself so well in a part that any actor would find challenging to put across." Liam Lacey of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' wrote that "''Restless'' feels counterfeit in any scenes that deal with real matters of illness and death".
Derek Malcolm Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (born 12 May 1932) is an English film critic. Son of J. Douglas Malcolm (died 1967) and Dorothy Vera (died 1964; née Elliston-Taylor), Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Merton College, Oxford. As a child he ...
of ''
London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'' wrote, "This paean to the troubles of youth has none of Van Sant's edge, which seems to have been replaced by whimsicality". Rich Cline of ''Shadow on the Wall'' wrote: "Hopper has a terrific screen presence that holds our attention from the start. He may be slightly too beautiful, but he has a compelling inner life that conveys Enoch's teen fragility and resilience. But then we can't take our eyes off Wasikowska, who delivers yet another magnetic performance packed with unexpected emotion and offhanded humour".


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Restless 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s teen drama films 2010s teen romance films 2010s ghost films 2011 films 2011 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films American ghost films Films about cancer Films about post-traumatic stress disorder Films directed by Gus Van Sant Films produced by Brian Grazer Films produced by Ron Howard Films scored by Danny Elfman Films shot in Portland, Oregon Sony Pictures Classics films Imagine Entertainment films