Gerry (2002)

Brief: Two Gerrys (Casey Affleck and Matt Damon) veer off a wilderness trail and become lost in the desert without any food or water.

Don't ask me why they are both named Gerry or if Gerry is merely a bizarre nickname they have for each other because I don't know the answer to either query.

I do, however, know that this is the best Gus Van Sant (director and co-writer) film I have seen to date.

I wanted to rent this movie because I thought it was an ingenious (and savvy low-budget) concept. Unfortunately, everytime I went to get it either it was out (who besides me would rent such a film?) or the party I was with didn't want to see it.

Luckily it appeared one afternoon on the Sundance channel while I was home, so I quite literally leapt at the opportunity.

After the first few minutes I regretted my choice. There was silence, and nothing to watch but a car going down an empty desert highway. I was going to quit, but I decided to stick it out.

Decision well made.

The film was co-scripted by Affleck, Damon, and Van Sant. They filled the dialogue with personalized slang, making it all the more real. Also, they never fell prey to making either character a hero or a villain, simply equal partners in the most difficult situation they had ever faced.

Truly chilling was how calm they were for the first couple of days, laughing and telling stories to fill the time.

Although much of the film is silent save the gravelly sounding steps across the hinterland, it becomes impossible to feel bored. Harris Savides' cinematography and the aforementioned trio's editing force you into an unsettling balance between panic and peace. It's so weird - you're nervous, but you feel almost apathetic about the source of that nervousness.

And that ending. I don't want to give it away because you definitely feel it coming anyway. Even so, it's breathtaking.

Affleck, while he has yet to eclipse his brother in terms of star power, has lapped him many times over in terms of talent. Every emotion he goes through in this film - and he runs the gamut - seems as natural as breathing.

Damon, who annoys me more and more with every passing movie he makes, actually works well here. His Gerry possesses clarity in crisis without the heavy-handed movie burden of leader, making his efforts all the more agonizing to watch.

It's been a few days now, but I just can seem to shake this movie, which is a triumph in my opinion.

Mind you, it also made me want to buy a compass.