I saw the premiere at Sundance and the audience was visibly moved and delighted. Goats is funny and wild. A great piece of entertainment. David Duchovny captures the wisdom and irreverence of Goatman with true daring and total (bearded) commitment. This will go down as one of Duchovny's great performances, in a class with Jeff Bridges's turn as The Dude in The Big Lebowski. Graham Phillips matches Duchovny's exuberance with his own sly charm. Phillips plays up his character Ellis's vulnerabilities and strengths so that the audience really comes to know and care about Ellis. He's a smart kid who sees through adult vanity. This is more than a mere coming of age story. Ellis, comes into a profound awareness and understanding of his own power and learns how to take serious action in his life.
The script is an impressive piece of storytelling. Mark Jude Poirier should be commended for adapting his novel--never an easy task for a writer and one Poirier finesses with wit and emotion. I can't wait to read the book. The director, Christopher Neil, clearly has a profound love of cinema. He knows how to shoot a beautiful scene--the scenes in the desert will take your breath away--and pull complex performances out of his cast. For me, Goats was the standout event of Sundance. Not to be missed.
The script is an impressive piece of storytelling. Mark Jude Poirier should be commended for adapting his novel--never an easy task for a writer and one Poirier finesses with wit and emotion. I can't wait to read the book. The director, Christopher Neil, clearly has a profound love of cinema. He knows how to shoot a beautiful scene--the scenes in the desert will take your breath away--and pull complex performances out of his cast. For me, Goats was the standout event of Sundance. Not to be missed.