James White-2015

Director-Josh Mond

Starring-Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon

Scott’s Review #465

Reviewed August 15, 2016

Grade: A

I am always struck with a warm feeling and my faith in the film is reaffirmed when I can watch an interesting independent film (or mainstream studio film for that matter) that has the guts to tell a dark character-driven story and tell it very well consisting of sympathetic characters written exceptionally well.

2015’s James White is an appreciative offering about life and death and how the main characters deal with the roadblocks of life and the effects of death. This film is quite dark, however.

A fantastic young actor, Christopher Abbott, plays the title character of James White.

We meet James in a loud, frenetic nightclub as he wears headphones with soft music playing, mixing interestingly with the pounding beats of the club music.

The audience immediately can tell that James is wound up, aggressive, and troubled. His estranged father has just died and while he is not too upset by his father’s death, he cares deeply for his mother, Gail, and is worried about her.

No sooner than a service, hosted by the father’s new wife, is held, we learn that Gail is suffering from stage four cancer and will not live much longer.

The crux of the film is how James deals with his multitude of problems from his mother’s illness, to finding a job, a rocky relationship with a teen girl, and his reflections on his own life, all while filled with rage.

The film takes place over three months, culminating in the dead of winter, an obvious irony.

Abbott and Nixon give astounding performances as son and mother, the apple of each other’s eye, and how they each deal with Gail’s inevitable, impending death. James is bottled up with anger throughout most of the film and frequently needs to escape before losing it.

In one amazing scene though, he does lose it during a drunken hotel bender with pals Nick and Jayne. The sheer emotion and desperation that Christopher Abbott gives during this scene are inspirational for any aspiring actor to emulate.

One wonders if director Josh Mond allowed his actors to improvise most scenes as the compelling, raw feeling to many scenes is evident.

Nixon, since her fame on Sex And The City, has chosen daring and complex roles and this is certainly to her credit.

As Gail, we see her desperate, emotional, filled with rage, and at times delusional, as she wonders what will become of her son after she is gone and how her world has spiraled out of control.

We also see Nixon successfully play motherly as she coaches her son through his anger and pleads with him to take care of her. It is a powerful performance.

Two slight knocks to the film- James’s best friend Nick is gay (and black), but despite their different sexual orientations, they are the closest of friends. While this aspect reaps heaps of praise for being incorporated into the film, we know very little about Nick, his family, or his inner feelings.

James’s new girlfriend Jayne is also a mystery. She is significantly younger, is dutiful, but what are her motivations?

Yet, given the very short run time of the film (1 hour and 27 minutes), I can see why the filmmakers chose to almost exclusively focus on the mother/son relationship.

A very slight criticism.

A film such as James White is purely character-driven and must be enormously rewarding for actors to play these two raw characters. A downer, to be sure, and too painful for anyone dealing with a loved one suffering from cancer, but a fantastic journey into the world of wonderful acting and dynamic screenwriting.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Male Lead-Christopher Abbott, Best Supporting Female-Cynthia Nixon, Best First Feature