Prince Avalanche hits Blu-ray and DVD on November 12th from Magnolia Home Entertainment
I believe that I’m qualified to review Prince Avalanche, but there are two important caveats I should lay out first. Number one, I’ve only seen director David Gordon Green’s larger studio films. I am aware that he came from a smaller, more dramatic background before taking a wild detour into larger studio comedies like Pineapple Express and Your Highness; I just haven’t seen those earlier films yet. And secondly, I did volunteer a couple of days of sweat and labor as an intern on the set of the film since it shot just outside of Austin. I’m fairly certain I didn’t get credited for it, and I’m 100% certain I didn’t get paid for it. Full disclosure. That said, I managed to pop up in a shot in one of the Blu-ray extras, so let a man be excited about that and let’s get down to reviewin’.
Prince Avalanche is a stripped down tone poem. It is funny and stylish; atmospheric and thematically potent, but more than anything it just provides a unique space for a couple of characters to live and breath. And in that it succeeds gracefully.
Shot in Bastrop State Park after the unbelievable wild fires that ravaged Texas in 2011, Prince Avalanche tells a tale set in 1988 after similar (fictional) wildfires. Paul Rudd is Alvin, a self-serious chap who fancies himself a woodsman and a romantic, who has gotten a job painting lines on the road in the burned out husk of the wilderness. Emile Hirsch is Lance, the brother of Alvin’s girlfriend, who was hired by Alvin as a favor to his girlfriend. Lance is young, shallow, horny, and insecure. These two characters have tons of time to develop as the meditatively-paced film (based on an Icelandic film called Either Way) plays out.
The setting is integral to Green’s version of the film; providing isolation as well as desolation. Prince Avalanche never leaves the burned forest, instead training its cameras on the charred remains of homes and forests until you can’t help but begin to see the new life creeping in; green and promising. Helping viewers get into that headspace is the score by Explosions In The Sky and David Wingo, which perfectly compliments the revelry and solitude of our characters; and the cinematography from Tim Orr which reveres the surrounding forest and exposes our heroes for the loveable screw ups they are.
Not a whole lot happens in the film. It may be one of the more engrossing and delightful stories ostensibly about nothing more than a girl breaking up with a dude, and that dude’s realization that he isn’t exactly the man he thought he was. And while I found so much more going on in the environment and in the fleeting beats with other characters beyond Alvin and Lance, many viewers might just tune out when they realize that, for the most part, what they see is what they get.
If you believe Emile Hirsch’s comedic chops, Paul Rudd’s dramatic chops (a sly role reversal on Green’s part), and a hypnotic setting and pace can carry you through a movie, then Prince Avalanche is going to reward you. But it may not offer anything to the rushed viewer who needs their films chopped up and thumping with sexiness.
You can read another take on the film from SXSW here, by David Delgado.
THE PACKAGE
I left the body of the review fairly short because I’d like to explore a couple of ideas that I stumbled across in the bonus features of this Blu-ray. The film itself, as I’ve indicated, is surprisingly beautiful. One wouldn’t expect a film shot entirely on location in a fire-ravaged forest to be so arresting, but the uniqueness of it all is wonderful. So yeah, this blu-ray looks nice.
Director’s Commentary
I loved this commentary track and get the sense that David Gordon Green might just be a really awesome guy. Not only have I cracked up at all of his films that I’ve seen, finding much to enjoy in each, but here is a guy who decides to invite a Set Production Assistant and the Craft Services dude in to record the commentary track with him. And not just as a token, but he really interacts with them. They each get a chance to share their unique experiences working on the film in smaller, less appreciated roles that I’ve never once heard discussed in a commentary before. They joke together, talk about the film, and generally provide an entertaining and special commentary track that gives you a perspective you just don’t ever get from other film commentaries.
Green also points out something I had barely even noticed in the commentary, which is that Prince Avalanche somehow ended up with an R-rating. Green good-naturedly challenges listeners to think of a “softer” R-rated film than his. And I can’t. Prince Avalanche features little to no swearing, zero sex, and no acts of violence. Why the R-rating? “For some sexual content” is what the MPAA (in its all-powerful wisdom and clarity) suggests as the reasoning. This means that one moment of implied masturbation, combined with conversations about “fingering”, and a montage of drunken revelry are now enough to garner an R-rating for a feature film. Green doesn’t express any outrage here, he simply points out the tame nature of his film. I couldn’t agree more. The rating of a film shouldn’t be the focus of a review, but it needs to be highlighted and called out as a real shame. I honestly believe the film is closer to a PG rating than anything else, and the double standards and brokenness of the MPAA’s rating system is laid bare here with Prince Avalanche and its misinformed R-rating.
Deleted Scenes: Played for comedy, this is almost more like a gag reel of Emile Hirsch dancing ridiculously.
Paul and Emile: A brief featurette focusing on the casting of these two actors and the intimate nature of this tiny film.
From the Ashes: An insightful and brief look into the fire which ravaged Bastrop State Park and the elements of the film which were added in once the team got on location and let the reality of the devastation inform their creative process.
Lance LeGault: One of the only other humans in Prince Avalanche is larger-than-life Lance LeGault, who laughs and drinks and offers advice in a small, mystical role in the film. Lance passed away after completion of the film and this bonus feature highlights his long career in music, TV, and film.
Interviews: with Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch, and David Gordon Green. And there are a couple of other small odds and ends and trailers and such.
Overall, this is a surprisingly robust package for such a small and odd film. I’m proud to own it for reasons far beyond my brief cameo in the bonus features!
And I’m Out.