So, Vertigo and Citizen Kane aren’t battling it out at the top of your ballot? I was just talking with a friend of mine who said she got you sorted out for access to the Sight & Sound greatest films of all time poll. Our conversation covered his approach to curating two repertory programs in New York associated with the film, why he embraces archetypes in his approach to characterization, and how he crafted an uproarious comedy with no overt jokes. I spoke with Kline in the days prior to the theatrical release of Funny Pages. But Funny Pages goes in its own uniquely, unexpected comedic direction with great inventiveness and introspection.
Kline’s film captures the scrappy, scuzzy, and ultimately sincere underbelly of the Tristate area, much like the Safdies do across their own work. This takes him to Trenton to apply his talents as a courtroom sketch artist, where he crosses paths with the wacky Wallace (Matthew Maher), a former employee of the comics industry.
#Funny pages free
Kline appeared in the Safdie brothers’ 2010 short film John’s Gone, and now the Safdies have returned the favor by executive-producing his feature-length directorial debut.įunny Pages chronicles the misadventures of Robert (Daniel Zolghadri), a young aspiring comic artist looking to break free from his cloistered upbringing in Princeton, New Jersey, and have the sort of real experiences that he can then use in his drawings. Between curatorial work at Anthology Film Archives and his exploration of creating underground comic art, a unique sensibility emerged.Īt the same time, Kline linked up with Ben and Josh Safdie-with whom he shared a formative high school teacher-as they began to cut their own unique path through the industry. Shortly after his performance in Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale drew considerable acclaim, Kline opted to pursue visual art rather than dive deeper into acting. Despite its almost stereotypical depiction of these lonesome figures on the margins of society, the script manages to subvert expectations and actually shock audiences in a rude awakening to this teenage dream of life as an artist.įunny Pages is, in fact, funny on the page, but leaves the viewer with a bittersweet aftertaste due to its decidedly de-romanticised outlook on coming-of-age and trying to find one’s place in the world.Though Owen Kline’s famous pedigree immediately presents itself in his surname, the more pertinent parentage to Funny Pages is that of New York City’s repertory cinema scene. Just as Robert draws caricatures, the film’s protagonists are all very exaggerated forms of characters: the prim parents, who naturally want their son to go to college the pervy landlord Robert’s best friend Miles (who is the acne-prone love child of Jay and Silent Bob). Josh Pais, Maria Dizzia and even Ron Rifkin have brief appearances as Robert’s family. Matthew Maher’s performance as Wallace is a wonderful balance between sympathy-inducing oddball and choleric antagonist.
When, on one of his jobs, he meets Wallace, who used to work as a colour separator for comic books, he feels vindicated in his quest and hopes to be taken under the grouchy man’s wing.ĭaniel Zolghadri stars as the passionate and somewhat uncomfortable protagonist and masters the gullible hubris of youth. The 17-year-old leaves the comforts of his bourgeois family home to find a place of his own – a room in a creepy cellar compartment that he has to share with a stranger – and support himself while he attempts to break through as an artist. His mentor’s sudden death inspires Robert to be more courageous, believe in himself and take risks. Robert is a geeky teenager, his love for comics and cartoons fervently supported by his art teacher, Mr Katano. Child actor Owen Kline ’s directorial feature debut screened in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival and allowed audiences to experience the antidote to The Big Bang Theory’s comic book obsession.
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