Leatherheads
Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379865/
This review contains minor spoilers.
There were three main reasons that I saw this film and love of football was none of them. The first two being the male leads – George Clooney who is constantly amazing in everything he does, and John Krasinski who was in The Office which is enough of a reason in itself – and the third being that it is basically a period piece – albeit a period far removed from the normal fare. So I sat down with a good outlook and ended up watching a very entertaining and extremely well made film.
What stood out the most for me – and what made it the most enjoyable – was that this surprisingly did not feel like a period film. Or perhaps I’ve that’s wrong; it felt more like a period film that was not made in the present. It was like watching a film set in the 20’s, but that was filmed in the 50’s. I believe this was the intention as Clooney was obviously trying to resurrect the Screwball Comedy which has become something of a classic genre. I think he has succeeded, as this film felt very much like the well knowns of the genre – Some Like It Hot springs first to mind, and I’m sure I’m not the only reviewer to see the similarities.
Clooney himself was phenomenal, he was perfect for the role and it was evident that he was having an amazing time making the film. The best characters are always played by actors who are thoroughly invested and enjoying their time making the film and Clooney definetly enjoyed himself here. Zellweger was also surprisingly great considering I tend to not enjoy the majority of her work. I think she is more suited for this type of strong witty woman who excels at quick comebacks. And finally there was John who tends to take roles that I can only assume are similar to his own persona since he does them so often and with such realism.
The writing was very remiscent of the 50’s screwball and I enjoyed almost all of the jokes. It’s a different kind of comedy than most people nowadays would be used to but that’s not at all bad. The cinematography was also pretty decent, and again very similar to the intended genre. It was simple and not flashy in the slightest but it did it worked great. I would recommend this film to anyone who had enjoyed the Screwball Comedies of the late 40’s and 50’s. And for those who haven’t seen many, I would say that you might be surprised.
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