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Family – it’s a word that appears in the descriptions and marketing campaigns of many movies. In film, the idea of family is often characterized by loyalty, unconditional love, and these days, dysfunction. All Hollywood buzz words in their own right. One word that doesn’t immediately leap to mind when you think of movies about “family,” is “people.” A family is, essentially, a collection of people, and yet the individuals are often overlooked and undervalued in movies that purport to be about “family.”
This is not true of Mike Mills’ ‘Thumbsucker’ (2005). Mills’ feature directorial debut is a funny and emotionally affecting movie about Justin Cobb (Lou Taylor Pucci); an introverted 17-year-old who is on his high school debate team, compulsively sucks his thumb, and doesn’t seem too interested in high school life or transitioning into adulthood. Justin may not have many (any?) friends, but his thumb sucking does not make him a freak or an outcast at school. He is wise enough to suck his thumb discreetly or when he is alone. He does not get ridiculed, at least not any more than any teenager who is not one of those beyond reproach. No one yells “Thumbsucker!!!” at him. Rather, this habit forces him to acknowledge what he already knows, and what everyone at some point realizes about themselves, that he is different from other people. Along with this comes the painful realization that he is not all that happy with who he is. His habit is a symptom, not the cause, of his problems, although Justin might disagree. Lou Pucci’s portrayal of Justin is marked by the awkward, nervous anxiety of a teenager not yet comfortable in his own skin. An anxiety that sometimes escalates into anger. Other characters display similar tendencies, but they are at least slightly better than Justin at hiding it.
Justin is definitely the main character, but the movie takes the time to thoroughly explore the characters of Justin’s parents, as well as the shifting and unstable dynamics of his family as a whole. Justin lives with his father, Mike (Vincent D’Onofrio), mother, Audrey (Tilda Swinton), and younger brother Joel (Chase Offerle). Mike’s competitiveness in races that are mere recreation for most of the runners’ casts him as a shell of the young and destined-for-the-pros football player he was before he was side-lined by injury. Audrey employs a whatever-it-takes approach to helping the patients she works with at a rehab clinic, but this dedication fails to translate to her attempts to help her kids work through their own issues. She also fantasizes about meeting a popular TV star Matt Schramm (Benjamin Bratt in a small, very satisfying role). What she calls “ridiculous fun” seems harmless only to her. Finally, Joel is not your typical “younger brother” character. Joel dishes out at least as much punishment as he gets from his older brother. In fact, Justin is the one who comes to Joel for help or simply a body to talk to, not the other way around. This dynamic gives Justin’s character added depth. He is too eager for acceptance to spurn his younger brother the way that we have been conditioned to believe unpopular and unhappy older siblings inevitably do.
‘Thumbsucker’ establishes itself as different before the opening credits have finished, when Mike comes into Justin’s room in the morning, pulls him by the arm to wake him up and then rubs his head. The surly wake up is followed by the classic “dad and lad” sign of affection. For Mike and Justin, however, it seems hollow. It’s something left over from Justin’s childhood, much like the thumb sucking. But this is Mike’s habit, not Justin’s. It’s a ritual Mike hangs on to in order to counteract the fact that he feels an increasing distance between them. This early in the movie, it is established that Mike may be as uncomfortable as a father as Justin is as a teenager.
Mike and Audrey’s behaviour throughout the movie suggests that they may not be emotionally ready to be parents. They both seem like they are still chasing some sort of complete happiness that continues to elude them. They are not unhappy, but there is a distinct dissatisfaction, a desire for something else. Though even they probably couldn’t tell you what it is that would make them feel satisfied. What looks like compassion and understanding in their scenes with Justin may actually just be them getting caught on their own hang ups. They don’t tell Justin what to do because they are insecure about the way their lives have played out. They are too afraid of having their own shortcomings thrown back in their faces to yell at him.
Too often, “how we met” yarns and “the time that (insert difficult parenting moment here)” anecdotes pass as back story for parents. These fail to help an audience understand who the parents are as people and how they became those people. Justin’s parents, on the other hand, have histories and desires completely unrelated to their roles as mother and father. The things the audience learns about Mike and Audrey’s past don’t explain how they ended up with each other. In fact, details are so few and far between that you may wonder how they did get together. Instead, the audience gets a sense of what each of them was expecting to get out of the relationship, while the events of the movie show how it actually turned out. They feel unfulfilled, and we can understand why.
This sense of the characters’ inner workings starts with the script, which gives the actors room to breathe and develop personality not always defined by their words. Scenes are not filled to the brim with dialogue. Characters take time to compose their thoughts. They struggle to express themselves. They say the wrong thing at the wrong time. They say nothing at all, even though they know, along with the audience, that they really ought to say something. They are aware of the missed or flubbed opportunity, which only amounts to another small failure in the scope of their life.
Yet, they seem to learn things about themselves in these moments. These realizations often lead to changes in the characters that are palpable in later scenes. Justin goes through the most dynamic changes throughout the movie. He kicks the thumb habit only to replace it with other vices, legal and otherwise. This reinforces the film’s assertion that we are all addicted to something. Justin’s various substitutes for his thumb produce wide ranging results: a hyper competitive streak, improved standing on the debate team and sexual experimentation. Each provides short term happiness that comes at a cost. For example, his ascension to the debate team’s competition squad and his success at the subsequent meets give him greater confidence and a sense of purpose. He also becomes smug and aggressive.
These changes in Justin have far reaching effects as they take a considerable toll on his relationships with his family. Mike resents Justin’s success. Their interactions go from awkwardly quiet to possessing an undercurrent of anger and competition. Mike now feels that he needs to prove something to his son. Audrey seeks assistance and approval from Justin early in the movie, praising his talents and sensitivity. After feeling insulted by his sense of superiority, however, she draws inspiration from his newfound drive. Rather than each being on their own “journey” that occasionally collides with another character’s, the members of this family affect each other in noticeable ways that Mills and the cast don’t feel the need to draw undue attention to. You will probably perceive them even if you cannot immediately explain them.
While ‘Thumbsucker’ is certainly critical of Mike and Audrey, it stops well short of condemning them. They are undeniably caring parents. If anything, I think what Mills has to say is that being a parent is extremely hard, especially in a world where we are force-fed the idea that a greater happiness is out there waiting to be discovered by each and every one of us.
The cinematography makes ‘Thumbsucker’s’ suburbia look like a vast wasteland of sorts. Negative space dominates shots. Cloudless, deep blue skies loom large over the insignificant bodies of the characters. The camera in ‘Thumbsucker’ is frequently in motion, but these are not frenetic shots filled with action. The camera moves slowly, sometimes right past scenes, not stopping to concentrate on a subject. It’s like the aimless gaze of a weary yet restless spectator. It pays no mind to objects obstructing its view. It does not avoid them or hurry past them. It takes them in the same as the rest of the scene. Not inspired enough to seek out something of interest. Too curious to stay put. It certainly works as a representation of Justin’s view of the world. It rolls by as he watches from a detached distance. In more practical film terms, however, it helps the director, and the actors stray away from the “big line” or “big moment.” There is not enough focus on any one aspect of a scene to make it too bombastic.
Not all elements of ‘Thumbsucker’ are instilled with the subtly that makes the family scenes work so well. Keanu Reeves’ new age orthodontist and Vince Vaughn’s debate team coach, along with the swings in Justin’s behaviour and character, are much broader. In some cases, almost surreal or absurd. These elements don’t make the film feel uneven or unsure of itself. Rather, they keep the movie from becoming too dry and mired in its own restraint. They also make the more subdued scenes stand out, creating greater opportunities for them to affect the audience. Additionally, Vaughn and Reeves contribute much of the film’s humour. Vaughn gives us some of his trademark rapid fire dialogue, though it has a significantly different feel coming from a high school debate coach wearing dorky glasses instead of a swinger or a wedding crasher. It’s less delusional and perhaps a little unsettling because of it. It could be a calculated attempt to impress and blend in with his students. Reeves is especially a treat, revelling in, while lampooning, his “Whoa!”- surfer notoriety. His reputation is such that he doesn’t need to ham it up. He exaggerates the personality slightly, and the results are frequently hilarious.
And while it may sound like ‘Thumbsucker’ strives to be realistic in other areas, this is far from true. The dialogue is often so repressed, that you simply get a different kind of abstraction of real life. After all, people don’t talk like characters in a David Mamet play, but they don’t sound much like the characters here either. ‘Thumbsucker’ alternates between a turbo-charged version of life and a washed-out one. Kind of what it feels like to be a teenager. Bouncing back and forth between drifting through an endlessly tedious existence and running down a slippery hill at unsafe speeds. For a movie that attempts to recreate the feeling of being a teenager, staying away from being “realistic” may be a good thing.
‘Thumbsucker’ is not a tremendously original movie in terms of its subject matter or its method. In fact, the quiet, quirky, teen angst dramedy seems to be growing into its own sub-genre. Where ‘Thumbsucker’ excels is in creating a mood that places the viewer firmly in the movie’s universe. Watching it feels like that moment in your personal development when you are afraid that you will not become all the things you want to. Then, you look at the adults in your life, and realize that they may have never grown up the way they wanted to either.
Country: USA
Budget: $2,000,000
Length: 96mins
Pub/2008
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