Reviews & Ratings for
Prince Avalanche More at IMDbPro »

10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:

A Charming Journey through the Woods with Two Great Actors

Author: JustCuriosity from Austin, TX, United States
9 March 2013

I enjoyed seeing Prince Avalanche at SXSW Film Festival. It is a peculiar and deceptively simple story of two highway workers in an isolated area painting the line down the middle of a new highway. The setting becomes a character as this low-budget movie was filmed in Bastrop, Texas last summer in the aftermath of the recent fires. Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch are really magnificent. Rudd is actually difficult to recognize and comes off so different than he often does in his straight comedy roles. This is a dialogue-driven film that in some ways seems a bit like a stage play. The dialogue and the relationship between the two leads drives the entire film. The film nicely merges the comedic nature of both of the ridiculous characters with the serious nature of the issues that they are dealing with in their personal lives. The film is far lighter than Rudd's recent turn in deathly dark Killer Joe, but somewhat more serious than Rudd's big budget film This is 40. While this sort of small-budget film is unlikely to get widespread distribution it really showcases the talents of both of these actors and the importance of good writing and a beautiful setting.

3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:

Incredible plot (which plot?) and incredible mini-cast still keeps you interested for the full 90 minutes

Author: JvH48 from Amersfoort, The Netherlands
5 April 2013

I saw this one at the Berlinale 2013 film festival, where it was part of the official Competition. The synopsis left me speculating what interesting things could happen in the given circumstances. Two men all alone in a deserted environment, meeting virtually no one while underway, and having a boring tedious task before them. Would one eventually kill or otherwise harm the other one?? Any attempt to have sex together, perhaps?? Or are they bordering on getting mad and about to make a mess of their job?? The situation could scatter in any direction, so it seemed. Anyway, the direction the story actually took was surprising. It is difficult but also unnecessary to condense the story here. Let me only say that the Dear John letter carried by the younger one (Lance) and addressed to the older one (Alvin), is an essential element in the proceedings.

They encounter some people, but these are only icing on the cake, no more no less. The lorry driver with the home made booze is picturesque in his behavior and his looks, offers some distraction from the story line, but is not essential. The woman in the burnt down cottage, desperately looking for her license as a pilot, left a minor open end when we see her later on with aforementioned lorry driver, though the latter denies having seen any woman around. But this is a trivial detail, not hampering my viewing experience.

All in all, I must say that this movie surprised me much more than I could have imagined after reading the synopsis on the festival website. It can be of no surprise that the Berlinale 2013 International Jury awarded a Silver Bear for best director, deservedly since he made a compelling movie out of barely nothing. The two main characters perform very well, and the desolate décor is perfectly integrated in the end product as presented to us.

4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:

the feel-good bromance of the year.

Author: TheCultureSlut from Utah
26 January 2013

If Emile Hirsch and Paul Rudd get stuck in the woods, does it make for a good movie?

This is the question Prince Avalanche asks of us, and the answer is a resounding yes. The film is a low-budget bromance that focuses on the relationship of two road workers revamping Texas roads after a forest fire wipes them out.

Spending weeks at a time isolated from society, our two protagonists get to know each other very well, and talk about everything and anything together – but mostly women. Alvin, (Paul Rudd) is dating Lance's (Emile Hirsch) older sister Madison, while Lance is constantly looking forward to the day when he can leave the forest and head back into the city where all the girls are.

The pair of actors are wonderful together, and it's their comical and engaging interactions that provide the framework for this movie. Director David Gordon Greene (The Sitter, Pineapple Express) is no stranger to comedy, and there are some brilliantly funny moments in Prince Avalanche, but the humor never takes full focus. There are long, meditative shots of nature mixed in with some great dramatic events that make this film a more reflective piece than a funny one.

Unfortunately, there is a bit of empty space, and some scenes drag on longer than they should. There is also this sub-plot involving an older alcoholic character that never really goes anywhere. Despite it's flaws, the highs and lows in Alvin and Lance's relationship make for a charming and inspirational story. Prince Avalanche is whole-heartedly an entertaining film that finds that rare sweet spot between the heart and funny bone.

1 out of 16 people found the following review useful:

Rudd Tries, Gordon Green does not...

Author: Clayton Davis (Claytondavis@awardscircuit.com) from New Jersey
10 April 2013

I've always been a sucker for comedic actors making a strong and firm transition into serious, more dramatic roles. Though the Academy Awards never recognized it, Jim Carrey made a strong showing in films like The Truman Show (1998) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Other actors that have followed include Jack Black as the flamboyant and eclectic old-lady killer in Bernie (2012) and even Chris Rock as he brilliantly complemented the off-beat love of Julie Delpy in 2 Days in New York (2012).

The newest attempt placed Paul Rudd opposite Emile Hirsch in David Gordon Green's dramedy Prince Avalanche. Suffering from a mundane, indulgent, and poorly constructed story with unrealistic characters and human behavior, Prince Avalanche falls right on its face from the near get go. Telling the story of Alvin (Rudd) and Lance (Hirsch), two highway road workers who spend the summer of 1988 in isolation as they get into weird instances of self-realization and having quarrels about the women waiting for them when they return.

The film plays off itself in the most obscure and peculiar manner. Director Gordon Green and Cinematographer Tim Orr capture odd and long- winded scenes of nature that feel either "wannabe" Terrence Malick-esque or a desperate attempt to show variety and art in an unlikely dramedy. What makes the film even more bizarre is the seemingly naïve and impractical dialogue between Alvin and Lance. The two get into an unnatural discussion about love, life, and where their lives are headed but it comes off so inauthentic, you feel like you're watching a near parody of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain (2005) but lacking any heart or pure cinematic statements.

Paul Rudd is our saving grace, immersing himself into a strange character but still attempting to make it his own. Awkward, funny, and at times fearful, Rudd shows future as a serious actor can be matched with talent and wit. It's one of Rudd's best turns as an actor yet. Emile Hirsch, brilliant in Sean Penn's Into the Wild (2007), has never returned to form since. As Lance, Hirsch gives a comedic edge that only fits his style of acting however, the character is so poorly erected that not even Hirsch himself can turn him into a real person for the audience to engage.

Unsure if I can fault Green for making the effort for this type of storytelling. It's this type of simplistic writing that's executed in the wrong hands that make me weary of any success for the film on both the awards front and box office. The scenery is a passable point and Orr does manage some commendable takes but the camera's constant moving, at times in the realm of a hand-held camera, is plainly dizzying and unpleasant.

An offbeat story with an unfocused director and narrative, Prince Avalanche becomes a mere lucid dream of cinematic enjoyment. Paul Rudd's surprising performance should be enough to have the viewer gander but outside of that realm, there's not much else to indulge.

Add another review

Related Links