SidewaysThey say alcohol is the great social lubricant; but for some like Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti), it's really a way to shield oneself from facing the terrors of overwhelming life. Superficially, Sideways is the story of two middle-aged men sharing a weekend of partying and fun in the wine-making valleys of California, before Miles' friend, Jack Cole (Thomas Haden Church), gets married in a week, one last hurrah of golf, drinking, and perhaps getting laid. But what appears as a feel-good buddy comedy at first contains hints of more serious, deep-seated issues between these two men, their faults and insecurities masked behind the veneer of masculinity and snobbery, terrified of exposure.
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Miles is at the center of Sideways, but he's a neurotic, anxiety-ridden mess, still pining for his ex-wife after their divorce two years prior. His interest in whisking his engaged friend away is ostensibly to show him a good time before he gets married, but in reality, it is his way to feel somewhat important, to sate his ego at showing off his voluminous knowledge of wines to his buddy. I believe it's not strictly that Miles is jealous of Jack, but that feeling is present; Jack is getting married, and Miles feels the sting. Miles runs from his problems, conceals them behind his academia and trivia. He teaches eighth grade English as a day job, but longs to publish a book he has worked on for three years. When Miles describes his book, his synopsis is so complex and convoluted, it is as though he is desperately afraid of it being derivative, of being ignored, not unlike Miles. Miles would claim that his life has been one tragedy after another, but one cannot help but see through Miles' act as a defense, to safeguard and insulate himself from acknowledging his own real mistakes, highlighting less relevant ones loudly to garner sympathy. He lies to Jack about why he is late for their rendezvous from the start, and to Jack's future in-laws, because they are clearly rich, big people, and he can't stand feeling small. It's subtle, but the deception is there; Miles knows it and attempts to capitalize on it. It seems that only with Jack--and even then, not exclusively--can Miles relate his insecurities and his fears. Jack, on the other hand, sees this week as a way for him to indulge in his own vices, and try to recruit Miles to do the same. It becomes evident that Jack harbors a borderline sex addiction, much like Miles' own borderline alcoholism. Both men use the other as enablers in their own way, looking to find an excuse to justify their means of retreating from responsibility, even when they have to bring the other along kicking and screaming. These are men who are in a state of arrested development, with Jack's block coming after the acting jobs washed up, and Miles' presumably from the divorce. But even here, Miles deceives us; a side comment during an argument reveals that Miles had an affair prior to his divorce, and one suspects that his unacknowledged alcoholism preceded even that. Miles' life is in such disarray and he is so ill-equipped to actually take ownership of it, that when confronted with something he cannot control, he retreats into his alcohol, but more so, his snobbery.
One suspects that Miles does enjoy wine, but it's obvious that the passion came after the alcoholism, and not the other way around. He makes the trip to the various vineyards throughout the year, including a restaurant where an attractive waitress named Maya (Virginia Madsen) works. The lascivious Jack correctly observes that Maya gives signs that she is interested in Miles, but Miles is terrified of engaging her independently; after all, if you don't try, you can't fail, right? It is Jack who maneuvers events between them, albeit as a side-effect from his seduction of another attractive wine pourer named Stephanie (Sandra Oh); shortly after Jack and Stephanie become intimate, Miles is virtually left to fend for himself. Miles is no romeo, but the audience doesn't get the sense from Maya that this is what she's after, wine-drenched double date or no. Maya brings up that she, too, is a divorcee, and that her ex had been a "fraud"; it is ironic then that she finds herself involved with Miles, who--innocuously or not--deceives Maya by not disclosing information about his friend's upcoming wedding. Miles' perception of a good time in the wine country would have been drinking then going back to the hotel, over and over. Maybe that's good enough here and there, but it is really just an excuse--like Jack's infidelity--a way for these men to hide from themselves, retreat from living a life where they can actually lay claim to something meaningful. Echos of the problems of Miles and Jack can be felt from the start, even in a wildly inappropriate moment when the two men open a bottle of champagne to toast...while driving en route to their vacation spot. What soul searching Miles has done has been at the bottom of a wine glass, as he has come to the conclusion that he is not unlike the Pinot grape he cherishes--sensitive, requiring constant attention, "thin-skinned". His confession to Maya of his fascination with the grape is the moment where he opens up, where he makes himself vulnerable, and trusts her enough to share this and his novel with her; and that is all the difference.
One of the most unusual elements of Sideways is the musical score, which often suggests that the film is fundamentally a light-hearted romantic comedy, the kind in which any real sense of conflict is based on the growing pains of a love affair which would predictably end with the lovers living happily ever after. This makes the light and airy score of Sideways all the more ironic, since while the film resembles these kinds of saccharine movies at times, it is itself a deception, an act put on to conceal the deeper problems that plague Miles and Jack, and their own neuroses. Moments like Miles racing through the vineyard, guzzling a bottle of wine while running from Jack are made to look silly when scored this way. But take away the music, and you see a man who is deeply suffering inside over his unresolved pain for his ex-wife. There is an appeal in the halcyon idea of a booze week in the sophisticated vineyards in California, with sun-montages of picnics, perfect weather...where bright smiles fill every day--like an advertisement for a better life. But one moment which secures the idea that this is part of an alcohol-infused delusion is so subtle as to be almost missed. When the two couples have returned again to Stephanie's house, and her daughter wakes up because they have been too loud, drinking and smoking, "Uncle Jack" picks her up and puts her to bed. Of course Jack has only just met this little girl earlier in the day, and he and Stephanie have gone out maybe three times and been to bed even more than that. It must be a terribly awkward moment for the little girl, but the music of Sideways and the light tone and heavy use of a dissolve effect creates a haze of ease for the audience mirroring that of the inebriated adults; and who wants to be the buzzkill who nixes the party? The direction and tone for much of the film is intentionally inappropriate, a secret message which puts us in Miles' shoes, leaving the door open for escapism, to run from the realities of alcoholism and enabling as Miles does until he runs out of road.
Recommended for: Fans of a dramatic character study, posing as a buddy comedy, which examines addictive personalities like Miles and Jack, and their respective means to escape reality. Miles, like his beloved Pinot, is a complex and deep character, relatable and empathetic, even when he is being an outright liar and jerk. And don't be surprised if you feel like you got a crash course in oenophilia after watching the film.
One suspects that Miles does enjoy wine, but it's obvious that the passion came after the alcoholism, and not the other way around. He makes the trip to the various vineyards throughout the year, including a restaurant where an attractive waitress named Maya (Virginia Madsen) works. The lascivious Jack correctly observes that Maya gives signs that she is interested in Miles, but Miles is terrified of engaging her independently; after all, if you don't try, you can't fail, right? It is Jack who maneuvers events between them, albeit as a side-effect from his seduction of another attractive wine pourer named Stephanie (Sandra Oh); shortly after Jack and Stephanie become intimate, Miles is virtually left to fend for himself. Miles is no romeo, but the audience doesn't get the sense from Maya that this is what she's after, wine-drenched double date or no. Maya brings up that she, too, is a divorcee, and that her ex had been a "fraud"; it is ironic then that she finds herself involved with Miles, who--innocuously or not--deceives Maya by not disclosing information about his friend's upcoming wedding. Miles' perception of a good time in the wine country would have been drinking then going back to the hotel, over and over. Maybe that's good enough here and there, but it is really just an excuse--like Jack's infidelity--a way for these men to hide from themselves, retreat from living a life where they can actually lay claim to something meaningful. Echos of the problems of Miles and Jack can be felt from the start, even in a wildly inappropriate moment when the two men open a bottle of champagne to toast...while driving en route to their vacation spot. What soul searching Miles has done has been at the bottom of a wine glass, as he has come to the conclusion that he is not unlike the Pinot grape he cherishes--sensitive, requiring constant attention, "thin-skinned". His confession to Maya of his fascination with the grape is the moment where he opens up, where he makes himself vulnerable, and trusts her enough to share this and his novel with her; and that is all the difference.
One of the most unusual elements of Sideways is the musical score, which often suggests that the film is fundamentally a light-hearted romantic comedy, the kind in which any real sense of conflict is based on the growing pains of a love affair which would predictably end with the lovers living happily ever after. This makes the light and airy score of Sideways all the more ironic, since while the film resembles these kinds of saccharine movies at times, it is itself a deception, an act put on to conceal the deeper problems that plague Miles and Jack, and their own neuroses. Moments like Miles racing through the vineyard, guzzling a bottle of wine while running from Jack are made to look silly when scored this way. But take away the music, and you see a man who is deeply suffering inside over his unresolved pain for his ex-wife. There is an appeal in the halcyon idea of a booze week in the sophisticated vineyards in California, with sun-montages of picnics, perfect weather...where bright smiles fill every day--like an advertisement for a better life. But one moment which secures the idea that this is part of an alcohol-infused delusion is so subtle as to be almost missed. When the two couples have returned again to Stephanie's house, and her daughter wakes up because they have been too loud, drinking and smoking, "Uncle Jack" picks her up and puts her to bed. Of course Jack has only just met this little girl earlier in the day, and he and Stephanie have gone out maybe three times and been to bed even more than that. It must be a terribly awkward moment for the little girl, but the music of Sideways and the light tone and heavy use of a dissolve effect creates a haze of ease for the audience mirroring that of the inebriated adults; and who wants to be the buzzkill who nixes the party? The direction and tone for much of the film is intentionally inappropriate, a secret message which puts us in Miles' shoes, leaving the door open for escapism, to run from the realities of alcoholism and enabling as Miles does until he runs out of road.
Recommended for: Fans of a dramatic character study, posing as a buddy comedy, which examines addictive personalities like Miles and Jack, and their respective means to escape reality. Miles, like his beloved Pinot, is a complex and deep character, relatable and empathetic, even when he is being an outright liar and jerk. And don't be surprised if you feel like you got a crash course in oenophilia after watching the film.