SIDEWAYS--VINTAGE FILM MAKING

One of the piquant pleasures of experiencing an Alexander Payne film is the refreshing way with which the director expresses ordinary human behavior. Who can forget the uproarious scene in Payne's underrated masterpiece "Election"--as close a model of narrative perfection as "Pulp Fiction"--in which Matthew Broderick's moral reprobate high school teacher scrubs clean his genitalia in giddy anticipation of an extramarital tryst? Or in "About Schmidt" how Jack Nicholson's widowed retiree lets his tidy home go to the wayward dogs after his wife's death? In SIDEWAYS, viewers are treated to brief but no less comically intuitive passages of pic's protagonists flossing, clipping toe nails, or (All hail Payne) spraying their socks with deoderant before a promising date. In these instances, as in the examples from Payne's previous films, the attention to such private acts of everyday banality is a reflection of his characters' inherent commonplaceness--while adding unforced gravitas to their all too familiar frailties.

SIDEWAYS is the fourth film to be directed by Payne and scripted eyeball to eyeball with writing partner Jim Taylor, and if one were to mark the auteur's artistic progress on a scale the trajectory would indicate a fluid escalation--with a major advance between "Citizen Ruth" and Election;" a minimal gain with "Schmidt" and another marked raise with the release of SIDEWAYS. Adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel by Rex Pickett, SIDEWAYS is a vintage, joyous film going experience which, like the varietals of wine guzzled throughout story by pic's protagonists, makes due room for all brands of welcome humor (From nervous to fall down funny), all the while informed by an embracing sophistication that never feels superior and balanced by a world weary sensitivity and maturity that never feels forced or less than empathetic. Marked by superlative acting by all four principals (Destined for strong Oscar consideration) which delves and pinpoints the flawed, pesky humanity in characters, Payne--by virtue of his "common sense" approach to storytelling--has delivered a by turns tasteful and bitter motion picture gem that should further elevate Payne to the forefront of American directors. SIDEWAYS is a movie to drink in, absorb and fall head over heals in love with.

Think of SIDEWAYS as "Y Tu Mama Tambien" with grown ups instead of sexually raging teenagers--a quartet of polar opposites who share one unabiding affinity: the terror of settling into midlife complacency with nothing to show for it. Miles (The superb Paul Giamatti) is a divorced teacher with an unpublishable novel wallowing in pity whose enthusiasm for wine is lately bordering on self medication. Jack (A priceless Thomas Haden Church) is a failed television actor on the eve of getting married to a sweet, well to do woman. Friends from college, Miles plots out a weeklong getaway into sunny California wine country as an extended bachelor's gift to Jack. While Miles expects nothing more than to forget his personal trauma over much wine tasting and golf, the sexually incorrigible Jack sees the trip as a forage into baccanalia, a glorious opportunity to sow some eleventh hour oats and hopefully help the down on his luck Miles "get his bone smooched."

Things look romantically promising when the hapless duo hook up with Maya (A soulful Virginai Madsen), a divorced waitress who shares Miles' passion for wine, and Stephanie (Fiesty Sandra Oh), a wine pourer and single mother who shares Jack's salacious appetite for sex. Tensions mount deliciously as Jack's secret becomes harder and harder to conceal and Miles must confront the harsh reality that his book languishes in unpublishable hell (Even though the unflappable Jack encourages him and tells Maya otherwise) and he hasn't gotten over his marriage, as Jack unwisely indicates his ex-wife already has. Rest of pic explores how the deceit affects everyone involved, and Miles and Jack rapidly forced to accept their lukewarm stations in life and grow up.

While this storyline may seem simple on the surface, there's nothing elementary about the evolutions the characters go through, or how the complications and hilarity which ensue over the week feel derived directly from the personalities of the characters rather than through any tweakings in plot. Indeed, SIDEWAYS is one of the few films in recent memory whose story is character rather than plot driven. Accordingly, the story unfolds on a welcome, unpredictable arc of spontaneity, much like the affects on behavior produced by multiple helpings of wine--the various moods of the characters and therefore film are predicated by the intakes of life they freely engage in.

And God how Payne gets lots of help from his cast. Giamatti ("American Slendor"), by virtue of his plain features and trademark sad eyed expressions, is a natural as the spiritually sapped Miles. Talk about atmosphere turning on a dime, Giamatti's face is a weather channel of emotions--confident in his element discussing the properties of fine wine one moment, emotionally crushed the next after being triggered by admonitions like Jack's confession that his ex has re-married. By turns scholarly and hopelessly pessimistic, Giamatti's is the performance by whom the whole film is measured, and the character actor is nothing short of excellent and believable.

As is Church. The former "Wings" star could be the perfect role model for the uninhibited beast that is washed up Jack, as the former television star seems to have vanished from the cultural radar since the mid 90s. But Church is unequivocally sensational in the role, whether throwing Miles a few bones of encouragement one moment or baiting him with unapologetic assessments about his character. "Do not sabotage me!" Jack warns Miles on the eve of their double date with Maya and Stephanie, and as reprehensible as his behavior is, Jack gradually warms over viewers by the sheer infantile nature of himself. Indeed, some of the more hysterically funny moments in film are indebted to Church, and he runs away with the role with a career resurrecting bravado.

As does the lovely Madsen, who as Maya defiantly buries the ghosts of her B-movie past (The abomination that is "The Hot Spot," for starters). Radiant, sophisticated, patient Maya is the perfect soul mate for Miles and the actress compliments Giamatti and the film wonderfully. There will not be a more frank expression of adult intimacy in film this year than memorable sequence in which Maya and Miles exchange their perfectly weighted philosophies on wine growing and nurturing at the end of their night out. Both actors reveal themselves as nakedly as you can without removing a single article of clothing, and the quietness and erotic fire is one for the archives.

Sandra Oh sadly has the least developed role of the bunch, but the actress shines in the few scenes she has. The fury with which she attacks Jack after dicovering his engagement, and the sadness she exhibits after having been used so cruelly is as primal a feat of acting as one is to see in a supporting performance.

Rolfe Kent's score has a jazzy element that perfectly captures the anything goes atmosphere of the film. THe screenplay by Payne and Taylor is a picture perfect display of artistry and commitment to character. Beginning with an intrusive knock on Miles' door, the unforced way with which film concludes on a similar, albeit more hopeful, note is a testament to the literate way Payne has constructed his film. Full of scenes brimming with the anguish of never having attained the full fruits which life has to offer, but savoring the opportunities and experiences that do come their way, SIDEWAYS is a remarkable film that is as funny as it is ultimately optimistic.