Okay, I loved this film more than I've loved a film in quite a long time. I left the theatre just plain happy for the experience, and I don't think there is anything better you can say about a film. I know it isn't perfect, but I'll come back to that later.
Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolf) have been together for years, but they've just got a surprise, they're having a baby. After finding themselves without anything to keep them tethered to their current location, they embark on an adventure around the continent trying to find a home to start their new family. The rest of the film plays out in episodic form. Each location has its own story and characters, some good some bad. The story stumbles and soars throughout these segments, but overall they are more fun than not.
Where the movie succeeds is not in these individual episodes, but in the relationship between Burt and Verona which is nothing but enjoyable to watch. Thanks in no small part to the wonderful performances by Krasinski and (especially) Rudolf. They spend the film completely in love, there is no terrible fight that threatens to break them up. They know they are going to be a couple in love forever, but how they can be a family is the question lingering over their lives through the film. Krasinski and Rudolf bring subtle performances to a film that is anything but. They are, for the most part, quiet observers and drifters trying to find their way when they don't seem to fit in anywhere. Don't worry though, both of these comedic actors have their share of comedy to bring, it's just very different from the type of funny seen from the rest of the cast.
It seems that the rest of the characters in film were created for the page and not the screen. This isn't surprising considering this is Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida first screenplay. I think they just need to pick up on the differences between characters that the reader does the acting for and characters where you can let an actor fill in the traits not explicitly stated by the text. Although, to be honest, sometimes ridiculously over the top characters can be fun to watch.
Speaking of fun to watch, I think we need to compare this film to Sam Mendes' previous film Revolutionary Road. It's amazing how one filmmaker can make two films in a row that deal with the same themes (a couple trying to deal with ending their old lives and living a life settled down as a family) but could not be more different. While Revolutionary Road dragged on and accomplished very little, Away We Go is nothing but a joy to watch. Overall, the movie was just like any good relationship. It was, at times, beautiful and ugly, romantic and ridiculous, funny and sappy, and just plain good and bad. Sometimes, you just need a little bit of everything at just the right moments to make something truly remarkable.
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