Digging For Fire

Movie, 2015, R

Premise - A husband and wife go house-sitting in the woods for a few weeks. For one weekend, the wife leaves behind the husband alone in their temporary house while she takes their son to visit her parents. The husband and wife go on separate adventures during their time alone, wondering if their marriage has prevented them from reclaiming their individual lives.

Review - This is one of those films that afterward I felt it would be impossible to give a good review without first doing some research. It's such a simple snapshot of reality, but holds such A-list stars. There had to be a story behind why they chose to make a film about... well... this particular story! I was right, and the background information is quite fascinating.

I noticed that Jake Johnson was credited as one of the writers, but I didn't realize it was based on a true story of him and his wife. They actually did go house sitting once, and he did dig up some stuff in the backyard, wonder what to do with it, and re-bury it once more. When talking to his movie director friend, they were like, "Hey! Let's make a movie about it!" So they grabbed a bunch of cast and crew friends whom they have made previous films with before (mainly Drinking Buddies, which I have yet to see) and filmed for 15 days in Los Angeles. NO SCRIPT - just a basic outline of the story. I was wondering why the dialogue sounded so ridiculously realistic. I was thinking to myself that Jake Johnson must be a genius, because no writer can create dialogue that natural.

And that's my overall impression of this whole story - natural. It's organic, simple, honest, and delightfully a little optimistic. However, there is no true plot line. The cynical way to describe this movie would be "boring." I enjoyed it for its representation of human life, but there's not much more beyond that (69/100)

Quote - I don't have the exact quote, but it's when Tim is speaking about the deterioration of his marriage. It's the most optimistic view ever of... well... a deteriorating marriage. He essentially says that, yes, of course, energy has been taken away from his marriage itself, but it's so much more satisfying for both of them to put all of that energy into raising their kid together.

What to Watch For - I watched this film for its star, the one and only Jake Johnson! I find him such an earthly actor. For this film, I mean that quite literally. Not only is he a down-to-earth guy, but he's literally digging through the earth and covered in dirt throughout this film. He's an incredible artist and creator, one with true cinematic integrity. He has a tendency to star in really genuine, low-budget indie films. And, of course, there's the adorkable New Girl. On the other hand, whenever he appears in large blockbuster films, he tends to be a two-dimensional side character (i.e. Jurassic World?) which just doesn't do justice to his talent. I'd prefer to watch his indies.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend The Pretty One!

Directed by Joe Swanberg
Distributed by The Orchard, Sony Pictures Worldwide