Rocket Science
Oscar Award winner Jeffrey Blitz brings an intensely personal story to the screen with Rocket Science (2007), a film based on his life that swept the crowds at Sundance and is bound to further win over nationwide audiences upon its August 11th release. The film captivates the heart and brings the viewer along for the not-quite-so-typical coming of age story of Jeffrey Blitz in disguise as Hal Hefner on screen.
It cannot be stressed enough how incredibly refreshing it is to see a writer/director allow so much of himself to be exposed to the public eye. And it is an intensely wonderful experience to see something real and less Hollywood formulaic on the screen. Jeffrey Blitz has a lot of himself to share and an incredibly wonderful eye for style, talent and a great understanding of the human condition.
From extras to the socially awkward, speech stumbling lead Hal Hefner, Blitz’s characters are fantastically original and memorable. It would seem impossible to keep an audience’s attention with a stuttering lead but his character was so strong, so unique and so endearing it becomes a rather engaging experience, especially as the audience is taken with him on his journey to win 1st place at State on his high school’s debate team. Yes, indeed, this boy with a horrific speech impediment! By the ending of the film, the audience goes through every track of the emotional roller coaster with Hal and every possible awkward moment a person can stand to bear in one theater sitting.
This cannot, however, all be accredited to writer/director Jeffrey Blitz as Canadian actor Reese Thompson’s performance had quite a bit if not just as much to do with it. The brilliance of his performance led the show, pulling in the audience closely and personally. That is absolutely not to discredit the rest of the ensemble, as they too were incredibly well cast, particularly Anna Kendrick playing Ginny Ryerson, Hal Hefner’s ill-fated love interest and eventual semester-long foil. Most unwillingly admit that she becomes the girl everyone hates to love, but somehow do despite the blackness not so deeply buried in her heart.
The visual style and direction can only be related to that of Alexander Payne’s Election (1999). Every corner of this film was preconceived and thoroughly considered from hair and make-up to high angled shots to the steam left on the school bus windows. The dialogue is smart. The cinematography is smart. The editing is smart. It is a very well directed movie that is clearly accepted and can be appreciated by the viewers. It all pops out in a very, very good way.
Blitz is quite successful at making the mundane overtly interesting and has succeeded once again with this piece. Rocket Science, though marketed as a comedy, truly stands in its own genre and leaves the audience with something more than a laugh and couple of jokes to run with. In the end, no raised questions are answered and the heroine doesn’t quite get what he’s sought out because though love shouldn’t be rocket science, it somehow his. But some great things are accomplished in Hal Hefner’s effort; the viewer is somehow left feeling a little less alone in the world. And that accomplishment deserves a slamming high five at the very least. And maybe even a nice, warm pat on the back.
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