Leaves of Grass (2009)
By: Tim Blake Nelson (director, writer)
Starring: Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Time Blake Nelson, Melanie Lynskey, Keri Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Josh Pais, Maggie Siff
An Ivy League professor is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown, where his twin brother, a small-time pot grower, has concocted a scheme to take down a local drug lord.
Let’s start this review by acknowledging what is currently a fundamental cinematic truth: Edward Norton does not make bad movies. You can argue that Death to Smoochy or The Incredible Hulk weren’t to your tastes, but they weren’t bad movies, and more often than not, the movies he makes are so good that it really is safe to assume that if he’s lending his talents to something, it’s going to be well worth your time to view.
Leaves of Grass is one of the most profoundly enjoyable films I’ve seen in a long time.
It’s a vaguely dubious concept from the outside, I know. Prodigal son trope with the same actor playing twins—Were this anyone else, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. Even the poster looks dubious. But this isn’t anyone else, it’s Edward Norton, who now holds the esteemed position of the only actor I’ve witnessed working off a split screen setup who was wholly convincing at it. Beyond that, though, there’s a sheer, whimsical genius to the story, which manages to be intelligent and shrewd without sacrificing approachability. It’s clever but not to the point of being esoteric; this is a film everyone can appreciate.
See it. You won’t be sorry.
