Ceremony

Max Winkler’s directorial debut, Ceremony follows an extremely loquacious young man (Michael Angarano’s Sam) as he crashes the wedding party of a former girlfriend (Uma Thurman’s Zoe) – with the film subsequently detailing the interludes and episodes that ensue over the course of one very long weekend. Winkler does a fantastic job of initially luring the viewer into the proceedings, as Sam comes off as a singularly captivating figure that almost feels like a riff on Jason Schwartzman’s Rushmore character. Angarano’s fast-talking, exceedingly quirky performance goes a long way towards establishing the movie’s pervasively irreverent atmosphere, with problems only ensuing once the novelty of the character slowly but surely starts to wear off. Winkler’s unabashedly plotless modus operandi – the filmmaker seems to be going for a vibe akin to Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game – inevitably becomes somewhat oppressive, as the supporting characters are never quite developed to the extent that one might’ve liked and, far more problematic, there’s simply no real chemistry between Sam and Zoe. Winkler’s decision to hold off on revealing just how the two characters know each other proves disastrous, as it’s virtually impossible to work up any real interest or sympathy in Sam’s ongoing efforts at winning her back (and without a rooting interest in their coupling, the movie does start to adopt a rather interminable vibe as it progresses). It’s finally impossible to label Ceremony as anything more than an ambitious failure, although, to be fair, Winkler does seem to possess a fairly distinctive point of view that will hopefully be put to better use in future endeavors.

** out of ****