The Details (2011)

When a family of raccoons discover worms living underneath the sod in Jeff and Nealy's backyard, this pest problem begins a darkly comic and wild chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity and murder.

Director:

Jacob Aaron Estes

Writer:

Jacob Aaron Estes

Stars:

Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Ray Liotta

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobey Maguire	...	Jeff Lang
Gary Schwartz	...	Plans Inspector
José Gandara	...	José
Elizabeth Banks	...	Nealy Lang
Miles Ellenwood	...	Miles
Kerry Washington	...	Rebecca Mazzoni
Ray Liotta	...	Peter Mazzoni
Rose Cano	...	Alma
Laura Linney	...	Lila
Traci L. Crouch	...	Pregnant Traci (as Traci Crouch)
Dennis Haysbert	...	Lincoln
Cathy Vu	...	Fantasy Fruit Girl
Gretchen Liebrum	...	Great Internet Boobs
Marlette Buchanan	...	Angela
James Kruk	...	Wine and Cheese Man

Storyline

When a family of raccoons discover worms living underneath the sod in Jeff and Nealy's backyard, this pest problem begins a darkly comic and wild chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity and murder.

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Plot Keywords:

raccoon | murder | written by director | masturbation | kidney transplant | 

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Taglines:

Doing the right thing has never gone so wrong.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content, some drug use and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Detailid

Filming Locations:

Kirkland, Washington, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$18,528 (USA) (2 November 2012)

Gross:

$63,595 (USA) (9 November 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

LD Entertainment, Mark Gordon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

James McAvoy was originally cast as Jeff, but dropped out due scheduling conflicts and Tobey Maguire replaced him.

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Quotes

Jeff Lang: [arguing with a racoon] Stop! C'mon. Fucker!

User Reviews

Great Performances Can't Save The Details

The Details begins with a pleasant enough introduction and promises of a humorously dark spin on suburbia . With a stellar cast that offers up top notch performances the movie moves along with a theme-park roller-coaster like flow between comedy and tragedy. Certainly humorous and at times truthful, the movie has a Jekyll & Hyde flow that creates a whole lesser then its pieces.

A seemingly perfect couple, Jeff the Doctor (Tobey Maguire) and the beautiful Nealy (Elizabeth Banks) are in a rough patch in their stale marriage. Two ill advised home improvement ventures lead Jeff to a run in with some pesky raccoons and a even more pesky encounter with a crazy cat lady neighbor(Laura Linney). Doctor Jeff's life begins to unravel as he tries to navigate his way through bribery, blackmail and his urge to feel some sort of spark that is missing from his marriage. A woeful tale of infidelity gone bad unfolds that leads the Doc down a slippery slope. He tries to cure his woes with a few doses of philanthropy, but no good deed goes unpunished, its the details that always gets you in the end.

The performances by the cast are top notch, Toby Maguire as Dr. Jeff gives a complex performance that is humorous, emotional and sympathetic. Elizabeth Banks has flashes of brilliance, the last 10 minutes give glimpses of what more her character could have offered had the filmmakers seen the opportunity. Lauara Linney is comic genius in a turn that is right up there with her best. Dennis Haysbert and Ray Liotta give very pure performances. This movie couldn't have asked for better side players which only makes it more disappointing that the filmmakers didn't create a better landscape.

The Details has brilliant moments of humor, but its see-saw approach between gags and edge of darkness stuff keep it in a gray area which can only be successful in the most polished of hands (e.g. American Beauty). Ironically its in the details, where the Details fails. There are numerous moments in the film where just a few tweaks could have kept it from flying off the tracks. The lasting impression is an attempt at modern story telling that wastes excellent performances by not keeping a tighter grip on the story.

I expect some buzz about the film after its initial premiere. Tobey Maguire gives a fabulous performance and gives all that he could, however once this sort of film is removed from the gloomy shadows of the downer films that typically makes up most of Sundance it probably won't fair very well. Shame really, this could have been a more significant film.