Josh Mond's James White is the story of a troubled twenty-something who is trying desperately to stay afloat after the death of his father. Living in New York City, James dulls the pain and anguish of loss with drugs and alcohol, unwilling to confront his emotions, opting instead to head towards a path of self-destruction. When his mother is diagnosed with brain cancer, James finds himself confronted with his self-destructive behavior, as he attempts to be there for his mother and once again deal with emotional grief. James White introduces its titular character as a not so flattering man, showing a somewhat privileged individual who is void of responsibility, as he drinks and does drugs by himself in a club during the middle of the day. The sequence sets James White up as a character who many would have little empathy for, soon after shattering that expectation as the film slowly reveals his circumstances. Perhaps James White's greatest attribute is its ability to take a character who isn't very likable from initial impressions and slowly expose the audience to his world, creating a great deal of empathy for a character who has been driven down a dark path by unyielding tragedy. Josh Mond's James White is a transfixing character study about a character who doesn't know how to deal with his emotions. James is a character who neglects his pain instead of dealing with it, which sends the young man on a downward spiral which he struggles to come back from. The film captures the importance of confronting ones own grief, showing how bottling up feelings of anger and sadness can only lead to isolation, creating a very dangerous me vs. the world mentality. Loneliness is a major component of this character study, and even though James routinely finds himself in the company of either his friend, Nick, or his girlfriend, Jayne, there is a great sense of loneliness throughout the film's running time, with the only warmth in James' character truly coming when he spends time with his dying mother. The cinematography does a great job at capturing the emotion of the character in James White, using claustrophobic framing which routinely focuses solely on James' face, putting him at center frame, a technique that visually expresses the loneliness and me vs. the world mentality which James' self-destructive behavior encapsulates. I always struggle to put into words why a film like this is so effective, but I think James White works so well simply because it captures in essence the tragedy and fear associated with losing deeply-important loved ones. Featuring a fantastic central performance by Christopher Abbott, who captures James deep-rooted loneliness and grief with nuance, Josh Mond's James White is a powerful character study about loss.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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