Cera plays intellectual teenager Nick Twisp who lives with his divorced mother and her slovenly boyfriend Jerry (Zack Galifikianis). He is a sensitive kid with a passion for Frank Sinatra and the films of Federico Fellini. One thing bothers him: he is still a virgin! Jerry needs to escape the wrath of three angry sailors so he decides that a trip to a trailer park for a few days is in order; once there Nick bumps into smart and sensitive teenage girl Sheeni and instantly hormones rage. When the coast is clear of said angry sailors Nick leaves Sheeni behind with her fanatically religious parents and returns home, all the while hatching a plan in which he finds work for his unemployed father (Steve Buscemi) near Sheeni's home; arranging to move in with him to be closer to his love.

Sheeni isn't won over easily and in order to sort out his virginal issues he must create a devilish, cocky and powerfully moustachioed alter ego named Francois Dillinger. This new persona helps the normally shy and reticent Nick to overcome his awkward personality for him to become a desirable and dangerous loverboy.

Miguel Arteta's film is a wonderfully off-key surreal comedy which makes perfect use of Cera's normally grating mannerisms; his awkwardness is the perfect foil for his alter ego Francois, which turns Cera into an unlikely suave sophisticate who reminds one of a younger version of Jack Nicholson's "Daryl Van Horne" from 1987's The Witches of Eastwick. Unfortunately, Buscemi is miscast as Nick's stern father; a master of understated comedy normally but the role is underwritten and he feels somewhat wasted here.

The soundtrack is thankfully indie-free; instead we get some French punk rock and a welcome dose of Bananarama & Fun Boy Three. A lot of studio-funded "indie" movies (isn't that an oxymoron?) tend to be primarily concerned with their hipster factor but instead this film nails it with a witty script, likeable characters and a wealth of subversive humour. There are scenes here which nearly steer the film into American Pie territory but it stops just short of going for the cheap gross-out gags, instead it utilises nicely observed teenage awkwardness to make you alternately blush and laugh with recognition.

Michael Cera fans will be pleased that he is still conveys that awkward and nerdish hipster chic but thankfully he plays up to it and pokes fun at his own image; here he shows us he has range and a charm that rarely came out in his overly mannered previous performances. With a stellar supporting cast and effortless charm this film is well worth investigating.

Breathless
Director: Jean Luc Godard

Cast: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger


One of the finest examples of French New Wave Cinema comes to Naas for night only on February 8th with The Moat Theatre's sceening of Jean Luc Godard's truly great feature debut 1960 film Breathless.
Jean-Paul Belmondo plays Michel, a career criminal who is on the run after shooting a police officer dead; seeking refuge in Paris, where he is owed money from a fellow criminal and returns to meet with his naive and idealistic American girlfriend Patricia. She is a student and budding journalist who Michel plans on taking with him to Italy once he receives his money but upon learning of her romantic rogue lover's criminal ways, Patricia has a crisis of conscience en route to their planned exile. While eluding the law enforcement the young lover's embark on a journey of self discovery.
Director Godard, along with Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol, became a major figure in French New Wave cinema with this film; going on to influence many prominent directors of the New Hollywood movement of the 60's/70's and the New Wave of American independent cinema of the 1980's with directors such as Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise) and Tom DiCillo (Johnny Suede) particularly influenced by the hip, irreverent dialogue and bold, stylish direction and editing of this film.
Breathless remains one of the finest examples of European Cinema of the 1960's and is a touchstone of indie cool with it's jazzy soundrack, stylish gangsters and bohemian chic. See it and cherish a classic.


Breathless will be screened in The Moat Theatre Naas on Monday February 8 at 8pm