This September 17th, you'll see a new old money antihero come to the screen, going by the name of Igby. Directed by playwright Burr Steers, Igby Goes Down follows the title character (brilliantly played by Kieran Culkin), haunted by anger and resentment, as he struggles through life within a rich family. Igby's grades suffer, his sarcasm is used as a wall, built to protect him from the corruption of his family, and he is sent to military school by his neurotic, self-absorbed mother (Susan Sarandon). Igby rebels against her decision, and with her credit card, he escapes the clutches of his family and schooling, running to New York and falling into the hands of his too cool godfather D.H. Igby then meets with D.H.'s mistress (Amanda Peet), her, shall we say, flamboyant friend Russel (Jarred Harris), and the beautiful, enchanting, yet disturbed Sookie (Claire Danes in an Oscar-worthy performance).

     The film is a quest for truth in a tainted world of money. It's a Catcher in the Rye for a new generation. Igby's sarcastic darkness is merely a teenage rebellion amongst a family that tries to convice themselves that their lives are normal. Even Igby's confidant of a godfather is corrupt in more ways than one. His brother Oliver (Ryan Philippe) rebels against NOT rebelling, doing all he can to gain what he wants most, money.

     The film is inspired by, not based on, director/writer Burr Steers' experiences growing up rich (his uncle is renowned novelist Gore Vidal). Originally conceived as a novel, Steers looked at the characters and decided a more visual story needed to be told. The script is wonderful, with dialogue that sounds like it should be hard to follow, but surprisingly rings true with each word. Igby is almost a dramatic Ferris Bueller, full of wit and above it all. A young man beyond his years in wisdom, but lacking any reason.

     Films such as these haven't been done in a way where we the regular people can sympathise... until now. Wes Anderson's Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums were always a bit overrated for me because they had no spirit, no emotion. His characters were merely generalizations through and through... great characters mind you, but not as rich and deep as Steers'.

     The performances in this film were excellent across the board. Kieran offers a pure performance that reminds me of the early days of Leo Dicaprio. I mentioned Oscar worthy before in reference to Claire Danes' performance. The same goes for most of the others including Culkin, Goldblum, and Sarandon. Steers' actor direction is masterful and the skill of the latter two added to Culkin's performance. A smaller part, which also is deserving of praise, is Bill Pullman as Igby's father, who falls into schizophrenia while living the life of the luxorious when Igby was a small boy (played by Culkin's younger brother Rory).

     The film is a character piece. The story revolves around these characters therefore making any real journey for Igby stand on the way side of the film. True, it is a coming of age story, but one that is centralized in the interactions of Igby's family and "friends."

     If all goes well, I see the film garnering critical praise and receiving multiple nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress.

Ken Miyamoto, 2002