QUITTERS REVIEWED
“Quitters” doesn’t want you to sympathize with any characters. If you can relate to most of them, then something went wrong in your life. Nothing major, just the typical pitfalls that seem to crop up in about every fifth person. Ben Konigsberg plays our lead and he squeaks through life like an evil Scott Pilgrim. Women tend to despise him, so he e-mail slams them. His family is nothing but a stoner dad and a pill popper mom, so he joins a new one.
The film looks like it was shot in a purposefully muddy style. While drab works for older films, modern audiences need a little extra stimulus to hang with the features that demand a little more cerebral power. But, I guess that’s the point of the film. “Quitters” doesn’t want you to find Kieran Culkin’s teacher too be endearing or to find the lead student as being a Holden Caulfield type. Honestly, there’s just broken and miserable people bouncing off each other with the hope of finding something better.
The cast assembled for the film is impressive, but I don’t feel like they have the chance to shine. That’s not a fault of the script, but more of the overall tone of the film. You can be too dour and such gloom will drag your work into the pits. If you can hang for 95 minutes with a film like this, you’re in luck. Otherwise, I’d recommend just going for the rental.
FILM STATS
- 1 hr and 35 mins.
- Momentum Pictures
- R
