Sideways (2004)

‘Sideways’ is a pot-bellied road-trip movie that likes drinking a lot of wine. It is slow, mature, sensitive and sinks into you the way a glass of good wine should. Director Alexander Payne has been an explorer of middle aged dilemmas. In ‘Savages’, he looks at the life of 2 middle-aged siblings who need to care for their aged father. In ‘Sideways’, he traces one week in the life of 2 middle-aged friends, at the end of which, one will get married and other would need to let his broken marriage go.

The story revolves around Miles and Jack, 2 friends who decide to go on a week-long road trip through wine country in California. Jack is a struggling TV actor who is about to marry a rich woman. Miles is a struggling writer, depressed and forlorn owing to a divorce, something that he hasn’t been able to let go of. Jack nurses a fantasy of getting laid on the trip and warns Miles not to get in the way with his sadness and disinterest in the good things of life. Jack befriends 2 girls, one a young hot single mother Stephanie and the other a divorced mature woman Maya and they double date. While Jack cozies up to Stephanie, Maya and Miles start talking. While Miles finds himself getting attracted to Maya, her love for wine and her views of life, he knows that he has to let the past go.

The story is as expected anecdotal, which is typical of this genre. Such films work if the road trip is seen as truly a life changing period in the character’s lives. In some cases, like say ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ or ‘Motorcycle Diaries’ or ‘Easy Rider’, it is more pronounced. In some cases, like ‘Sideways’, it is a subtle shift. Alexander Payne keeps the pace as slow as possible, in order to give the viewer a taste of the characters, the way they would taste wine. When we go through difficulties in life, it is natural for us to identify with the idea of difficulty, than with ease. When Maya asks Miles, why he loves Pinot noir so much, he goes into length to explain, how difficult it is to grow that grape and in doing so reveals a lot about his love for wine and about his inner turmoil. The film won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Paul Giamatti delivers a fabulous performance as the cerebral, suffering Miles. His portrayal of a man, who is struggling to come to terms with the end of a relationship, while spurning efforts to get him out of that state is a superb demonstration of balanced acting. Thomas Haden Church as the more visceral, red blooded man who wants the last grope at being wild before he settles down is the perfect foil for Miles as he tries to shake his friend out of his self-pity escapade and make him see the light. Virginia Madsen, as the angelic Maya who gives Miles just the soothing nudge he needs to move on is effective in a small role that earned her an Oscar nomination.

‘Sideways’ is a grown up film. Great for a Sunday watch.