Greenberg is a character study of a man without much use to society, himself, or anyone around him. He's full of interesting things to say, but can never relax enough to channel his thoughts. He's determined to do nothing with his life (at least for a while, he says). His daily struggles (and I mean struggles) include swimming across a pool and trying to hold a basic conversation without freaking people out. In other words, Roger Greenberg was conceived as a rich, deeply troubled and tragic man, but unfortunately, the potential depth and complexity of his character are never fully realized in the film.
Although the casting of Ben Stiller in the role of Greenberg was certainly intriguing, I believe his interpretation of the character lies at the heart of the problem. Going into the film, I knew I wasn't going to get a performance on the level of Carrey in Eternal Sunshine or Sandler in Punch Drunk Love, but I still felt sure that Stiller would make the film work. It's not that Stiller's performance was flat... it wasn't. He nailed the abrasive and socially frustrated side of Greenberg perfectly. But when it came to delving into the meat of his character, he seemed to come up short, and with the exception of a few overtly dramatic scenes, we never get the sense that Stiller truly grasps the tragedy of his character.
Unfortunately, the slow, minimalist structure of the film relies on a knock-out performance by Stiller. For the first hour of the film, Baumbach had this to say: "This is Greenberg. He has problems with people." It wasn't until the last half hour that Baumbach began to explore the possibilities of the character, and this is when the film becomes truly interesting.
If this were coming from an average writer/director, Greenberg would be hailed as a reasonable achievement, but coming from Baumbach, I came out of it feeling like he could have done better. Greenberg isn't a failure as a whole. If you go into the film searching for brilliance, you'll find it. Just don't bother bringing a handkerchief with you, as you may have needed one for his past works.
Although the casting of Ben Stiller in the role of Greenberg was certainly intriguing, I believe his interpretation of the character lies at the heart of the problem. Going into the film, I knew I wasn't going to get a performance on the level of Carrey in Eternal Sunshine or Sandler in Punch Drunk Love, but I still felt sure that Stiller would make the film work. It's not that Stiller's performance was flat... it wasn't. He nailed the abrasive and socially frustrated side of Greenberg perfectly. But when it came to delving into the meat of his character, he seemed to come up short, and with the exception of a few overtly dramatic scenes, we never get the sense that Stiller truly grasps the tragedy of his character.
Unfortunately, the slow, minimalist structure of the film relies on a knock-out performance by Stiller. For the first hour of the film, Baumbach had this to say: "This is Greenberg. He has problems with people." It wasn't until the last half hour that Baumbach began to explore the possibilities of the character, and this is when the film becomes truly interesting.
If this were coming from an average writer/director, Greenberg would be hailed as a reasonable achievement, but coming from Baumbach, I came out of it feeling like he could have done better. Greenberg isn't a failure as a whole. If you go into the film searching for brilliance, you'll find it. Just don't bother bringing a handkerchief with you, as you may have needed one for his past works.