Imaginary Heroes Film Review (2004)

photo courtesy of cinemasource.com

The most recent independent film I watched was the run of the mill, suburbanites with issues; Imaginary Heroes. It’s a film reminiscent of American Beauty and Ordinary People. No offense toward the writer/director Dan Harris, who is known for his part in writing the comic book adaptations, X-Men 2 and Superman Returns.

Imaginary Heroes, staring Sigourney Weaver (Sandy), Jeff Daniels (Ben), Kip Pardue (Matt), Michelle Williams (Penny) and Emile Hirsch (Tim), tells the story of the dysfunctional Travis family. Tim is our navigator throughout the film; he lets us know early on that his brother Matt is the “best” at everything, especially swimming. He holds every record and he is headed to the Olympics. Little do we know, after learning what a great athlete Matt is, he commits suicide; he shoots himself in the head. Why did he do it you may ask? Tim knows.

This sets off the chain of events that emotionally and physically destroys the Travis family, leaving them to deal.

There are many revelations throughout the movie; Matt’s death brings about other issues that have been buried and hopefully forgotten. Tim, he is a typical teenager who is trying to find and understand himself. He walks around in a fuzzy daze due to his frequent use of alcohol and drugs. In his opinion, he doesn’t fit in to the Travis family. He was always an outcast; he did not have the greatest relationship with his father, he was smaller than the family-famed Matt, and he was not athletic at all. Early on, we learn that Sandy has a deep, obsessive grudge against their neighbor Marge (Deirdre O’Connell). You will learn why later in the movie. In addition to her grudge, Sandy tries reliving her younger years; she starts plundering Tim’s marijuana stash. This is not to say that she is a bad mother. She becomes closer to Tim, as we watch them have intimate conversations about each other’s thoughts, feelings, and why Matt may have killed himself. Ben, the obsessive, perfectionist father, becomes totally disengaged, unable to communicate with any member of his family. He ends up taking a leave of absence from work, only to soak in his sorrows on a park bench. He is powerless in trying to let go of his son’s memory, forcing Sandy to cook extra food and serve a plate for Matt’s seat, as if he will return and join them for dinner. Penny, the college-aged daughter, who left the flock as soon as time permitted, only visits on holidays. All of these elements have the makings for dysfunction.

What I can say is that the acting was excellent and in my opinion, the script was well written. The actors took their roles and ran with them. Sandy and Tim were my favorite characters, without them there would be no film. Also, this is one of the better performances that I’ve seen by Jeff Daniels. If you have some time to kill or if you are a fan of one of the actors, then it’s a decent film to see, otherwise, I wouldn’t rush out to Blockbuster.

GRADE: C

Check out the trailer below (IE users click here)