Imaginary Heroes (2004)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Dan Harris

Writer (WGA):

Dan Harris (written by)

Release Date:

25 February 2005 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

People are never who they seem to be

Plot:

The Travis family façade is destroyed by an event incomprehensible to them -- an event which will open...

Plot Keywords:

Irreverence | Nose Bleed | Ecstasy | Sexual Awakening | Coming Of Age

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Sandy Travis
Emile Hirsch	...	Tim Travis
Jeff Daniels	...	Ben Travis
Michelle Williams	...	Penny Travis
Kip Pardue	...	Matt Travis
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Marge Dwyer
Ryan Donowho	...	Kyle Dwyer
Suzanne Santo	...	Steph Connors
Jay Paulson	...	Vern
Luke Robertson	...	Jack Johnson
Lee Wilkof	...	Mitchell Goldstein
Terry Beaver	...	Dr. Montey
Sara Tanaka	...	Shelly Chan
Ned Benson	...	Undercover Hippie
Larry Fessenden	...	Store Clerk

MPAA:

Rated R for substance abuse, sexual content, language and some violence.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Belgium

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:18 (original rating) | Germany:12 | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:G (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chatham, New Jersey, USA

Company:

ApolloProMedia GmbH & Co. 1. Filmproduktion KG (I)

Trivia:

At an assembly, a student reads "original poetry" by another who had recently killed herself. The poetry is actual an excerpt from the lyrics to "Alive" by Pearl Jam.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Matt's swimming time at the start of the movie is 44.3 for a 100 meter long course swim. This time would better the world record of 47.84. If he had been swimming in a short course yard (instead of long course meters) pool this time would have been a great time, but not a world record.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tim Travis: Matt Travis was a great swimmer. But it wasn't just that he was a great swimmer, it was simply that he was greater at swimming than anyone I ever knew was good at whatever they were good at.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Die unendliche Geschichte (1984)

Soundtrack:

Lose Your Mind

Excellent, smart, funny, scary

This film is chock-full of little surprises, many of them funny. The fact that it's written and directed by a 24-year old blows my mind. Some of the scenes where the high school kids are using ecstasy made me very uncomfortable because I have a kid that age and I could picture her using it. As parent of a teen, I found the depictions of the parent-child interactions to be dead-on accurate.

I enjoyed the film's many little jokes, and I enjoyed the fact that not everything made perfect sense and not all the issues were resolved by the end. To paraphrase Mark Twain, truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction is required to stick to that which is possible, while truth is not.

This is a film which plays with the viewer, allowing us believe that people are what other people think they are, only to allow us later to realize that the folks we assumed were right were completely ignorant of the real situation. One of the film's strongest scenes, a scene about which we feel very relieved and sympathetic about what the character is doing, turns out to be based on a completely wrong assumption, and the character, while admirable, is totally wrong. It's very subtly done, I think. Very realistic.

I liked the score a lot -- I thought it really aided the film, really helped set the mood -- the film has a couple of screwball moments, and the background music helps establish that.

The valedictorian speech is a hoot and a half -- got a big laugh! The movie is really in my head right now -- saw it this morning. Will try to see it again, time allowing. Tens are hard to come by, but a solid nine in my book.