Location: Los Angeles
"How Things Change"
Directed by: Michel Gondry
Written by: Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry
Produced by: Steve Golin, Spike Jonze, and Anthony Bregman
Edited by: Eric Zumbrunnen
Main Cast
Cameron Bright as Billy Maple
William Fichtner as as Phil Maple
Catherine Keener as Victoria Maple
Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Travis Johnson
Lynn Whitfield as Jessica Johnson
Sean Astin as Jack The Cat
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Evil Lord Kunas
Jason Lee as Rocker Dennis
Mickey Rourke as Detective Brock
Tobey Maguire as Private Bobby
Tagline: "His life changed, and so did the world around him...literally"
Synopsis: Billy Maple always had a big imagination, but after he is involved in a car accident he develops a learning disability. To make matters worse, his hard working father, Phil Maple, must work even harder to pay for Billy's medical bills, which causes Phil to drink more often. The more he drinks the more abusive he becomes to his family. Billy's ex-drug addict mom, Victoria Maple, has picked up her old habit of doing drugs because of the stress of the family. As Billy's personal life gets more complicated and with more stress, Billy's imagination becomes more out of control.
Billy would randomly put himself into four different worlds. A superhero world where he has the ability to fly, and has a sidekick named Jack with powers of a cat. In the superhero world they fight the evil telepathic lord Kunis. He also imagines a world of rock and roll, where he and his rebellious guitar man Dennis perform at concerts. He imagines a world of crime, where him and his "play by no rules" partner Brock clean the streets up. Finally, he also imagines a world of space exploration where him and Private Bobby explore different worlds to conquer. Billy's imaginations of these worlds come and go, and his parents are afraid.
Billy's parents send Billy to a very mild and boring psychiatrist, Dr. Travis Johnson, who is having problems connecting with his wife Jessica Johnson. But Dr. Travis learns that he can learn more from Billy that can help his relationship, than Billy can learn from him. As more problems occur, Billy is more engulfed in his imaginations, and the ones who love him must act quickly before Billy completely losses his mind.
What the Press would say:
How Things Change, is the movie that will change the movie going experience. The story is about a boy with a vivid imagination who is more engulfed by his imaginations as life gets harder for him. Directed by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind's director Michel Gondry, and written by two time Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman, this movie is another masterpiece made by the duo. The editing done to the movie is quite unique. The transitions between the imagination worlds and the real world situations are so subtle that audiences won't be aware at times if they are in the imagination world until the familiar imaginative characters appear. Some great comedic aspects are given through the imagination parts that give a well needed comedic relief at times, and with the imagination parts making up about sixty percent of the movie I would consider this Dramedy to be more comedy than drama.
The acting is phenomenal. The young Cameron Bright gives a performance that is out of this world, as he must portray different versions of his character depending on what imaginative world he is in. Truly remarkable on levels that are beyond belief. Laurence Fishburne's character starts out like how most of his characters are, but as his character comes to realizations and starts to change you can really feel the emotions of the character. He plays a psychiatrist that is very serious about his job and learns how to be a bit more loose and fun in order to patch up his dying relationship with his wife. William Fichtner and Catherine Keener both give dramatic performances as the couple who is worried about their son but can't seem to stop fighting with each other. Fichtner character is very interesting to watch as he turns from hard working father to abusive husband, and Keener's character is very disturbing as her son starts to realize what she is doing for drugs.
Michel Gondry's direction is similar to Eternal Sunshine with only one exception. Gondry focuses heavily on the smooth transitions between the real world and imagination worlds so that audiences won't know which world they are seeing until it become apparent. This is establish by unique camera angles, and unique lighting. Gondry is also able to successfully express the theme of the movie, which is about how people must adapt to the changes around them. The theme is strong and common enough to connect with audiences on a personal level. How Things Change is Gondry's next masterpiece. It is the movie event of the year, and will have audiences talking about the film for years to come.
Best Musical/Comedy (Golden Globes)
Best Ensemble (SAG)
Best Picture
Best Director- Michel Gondry
Best Actor- Cameron Bright
Best Supporting Actor- Laurence Fishburne
Best Supporting Actor- William Fichtner
Best Supporting Actress- Catherine Keener
Best Original Screenplay- Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry
Best Editing
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