Review: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
When I saw Neil LaBute's In the Company of Men at the 1997 SXSW Film Festival, I was unsettled by the brutal portrayal of misogynistic behavior of its main characters. Though I originally intensely disliked the film, I realize now my references to LaBute's work twelve years later is compelling evidence of the film's ability to hit a nerve. John Krasinski's directorial debut of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men evokes a similar response, as it explores the dark and disturbing nature of men and their complex relationships with women. Based on the book by David Foster Wallace, this film pushes viewers out of the comfort zone and exposes the darker nature of human interactions.
A doctoral candidate in anthropology at a prestigious East Coast university, Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson) attempts to remedy her heartache from a recent break-up with a new research project. She begins conducting a series of interviews with men. As she records the disturbing personal experiences of various subjects, Sara finds out much more about men than she bargained for. Their stories are connected by Sara's own experience as she tries to understand why her boyfriend (John Krasinski) has left her without any explanation.
The subject matter of the stories ranges from the bizarre to the banal, but even the sordid tales are darkly humorous. The characters are referred to by anonymous subject numbers, but the actors that portray them are top notch. Subject #11 (Will Arnett), Subject #3 (Christopher Meloni), Subject #14 (Ben Shenkman), and Subject #19 (Chris Messina) are each intriguingly entertaining in their own way, but the real stand outs are the scenes discussed during my interview with John Krasinski. The only interview in the film not centered on men and women, the intermingled dialogue of Subject #42 (Frankie Faison) and his father (Malcolm Goodwin) is still quite riveting. Julianne Nicholson's performance is nicely understated and reinforces the film's continuity as the previously anonymous interviewer takes on a gender and a face.
It has been said that David Foster Wallace's works are unadaptable, yet John Krasinki's attempt at Brief Interviews with Hideous Men proves that Krasinski can successfully take on a challenge for something that he is passionate about. Despite the dark and revealing nature of this film, it has great value is in evoking reactions from the audience and stimulating real conversations about men and women.