After you get past (or just used to) its Wes-Andersonny tics, Rocket Science boasts great acting from its actually-adolescent-looking cast, and manages to be that teen-angsty-romance-schoolcompetition sort of film without fading into those films’ ruts. It was funny, moving — but really the leads (Reece Thompson and Anna Kendrick) made the film more than a minor pleasure.
Acting also amps up the rewards of The Assassination of Jesse James, with the justly-nominated Casey Affleck as the weaselly Bob Ford wheedling across the screen in a really great performance, and lots of strong work from supporting cast (Sam Rockwell is reliably great, Paul Schneider quite funny, and Garret Dillahunt outstanding as the hangdog Ed Miller). Plus the film looks a wonder, shot by Roger Deakins to enthusiastically capture the look of images (photographed and painted) from the era depicted. Still, I found the story often muddled — some great dialogue, but… well, James was a cipher, and I couldn’t even get a real handle on Ford, let alone the film itself. Intriguing at first, always ravishing to see, but after a while (and it goes on a while) wandering with the emphasis on wan.