Raisins are grapes with their life sucked out. (Benny And Joon (DVD))

Member Name: MorganaDQ

Product:	Benny And Joon (DVD)
Date:	04/05/01 (320 review reads)
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You know, I've always loved Johnny Depp's films. Not just because he's so very droolsome (if that's not a word, it should be), but because he's simply an excellent actor. And his little offering in "Benny & Joon" proves the point to me yet again.

I wouldn't say this is his best role, but it's certainly (for me anyway) one of his most compelling performances. I'll explain why in a moment.

The story centres around Benny and Joon (of course). Benny is a mechanic and a very tired one at that. The reason being he also looks after his younger sister, Joon. Benny takes his responsibility to his younger, but still adult, sister very seriously, refusing to put her into a home. Instead they go through housekeeper after housekeeper trying to find the right one for Joon's special needs.

It's not made entirely clear in the film exactly what's wrong with Joon, but I found I didn't really need to know. Suffice it to say that she'll put on her diving mask, grab herself a table tennis bat, and wander into the road to direct the traffic at a moment's notice. She wants to be taken seriously, yet she can't recognise why her brother can't do that.

Where does our Johnny Depp come in? At a poker game actually. When Benny is playing poker at a friend's house the bets get bigger and bigger, until his friend bets the relative he has staying with him. He views him as just one big nuisance, so wants to palm him off on anyone who'll let him. Benny's the one who lets him, and although it's Joon who actually loses the game, it's Benny who accepts that a bet is a bet, and so they take Sam home with them.

This is where the story really starts. The arrival of Sam in the home is one that turns their lives upside down. Joon has convinced Benny that they don't need a housekeeper anymore because Sam is there. He cleans, he keeps Joon amused, an
d he's generally a very likable person. But something seems odd about him. This is never explained either, and when I've watched the film I've often wondered why exactly Sam is the way he is. The only thing we do find out is that he's dyslexic. This could be the only reason he's so 'eccentric', but it's never explored fully in the film.

Sam dresses like Buster Keaton. He walks like Buster Keaton. He rarely speaks either. At one point he even puts on an impromptu mime show in the middle of the park, the routine being very Keaton/Chaplinesque. It's an excellent sequence, one to really watch, and the one which sticks out most in my mind after watching the film a few times.

So you know the basic story, and you know it's a romance because it's in the romance category ;)

Johnny Depp as Sam, as I said at the beginning, is excellent. He had me hooked whenever he was in a scene. The quietness of the character, the quirkiness, everything, kept me enthralled. His eyes were able to tell the story without him even opening his mouth, and that's what I love about this performance. What else can I say? He was simply excellent.

Mary Stuart Masterson plays Joon, and again this is a great performance. She plays the innocence of the character perfectly throughout the film. The more 'unusual' moments in Joon's everyday life are played realistically, and certainly not overdone at any time. Even the tantrums were believable.

Aidan Quinn plays Benny. Yet another great choice for the film, he never overplays the turmoil at facing the prospect of having to send his sister to a home, and the 'bonding' moments are never too mushy.

All three actors play with and against each other perfectly. The affection shows where it's supposed to, as does the rivalry between characters.

The supporting cast is a good one too, although for the most part the
film is held together by the three main roles, the supporting actors are all excellent too. A special mention now for Julianna Moore as Ruthie, the waitress in the cafe in which Sam makes two bread rolls dance on the counter (watch it and see). It's obvious she's gonna be the love interest for Benny right from the start, and the two work well together throughout the film.

As you'd expect from a movie of this type, it's very polished, with an almost golden tint to the picture (maybe it was just me that saw this, or maybe my TV needs adjusting ;)). The director, Jeremiah S. Chechik, did an excellent job making this feel-good movie actually feel good, and it's one that gets viewed every so often if for nothing else, for Depp's performance as Sam.

This film does have a PG rating, though I really do think younger than adolescents wouldn't 'get it', mainly due to the focus of Joon's mental illness.

The message in the film that 'love can conquer all, including mental illness' is a difficult one to accept at times, but simply sitting back and watching this film for entertainment's sake is the best thing you can do. Don't try to analyse it, just enjoy it. Relax back, cry where you need to, but chuckle your way through most of it. Oh, and look out for Depp mashing potatoes with a tennis raquet... simplicity works wonders sometimes ;)

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