ALL THE REAL GIRLS, the 2003 romantic drama by David Gordon Green, is one of those rare films that gets love just right. It is a tender, compelling, and haunting love story with disturbingly strong performances.
Paul Schneider heads the cast as Paul, a local kid with a bad reputation for toying around with several women. He soon finds himself falling truly in his best friend's (Shea Whigam) beloved sister, Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Noel has never been in a serious relationship, and neither has Paul. But... will their individual flaws ruin their only chance at love?
Schneider is very good as the torn Paul. You can see his transformation into a young man trying to get his life on track. Zooey Deschanel is stunning in every way, and it is so easy to see why Paul is willing to change himself for her. I sense a star in the making...
Shea Whigam is remarkable as Tip, Paul's "partner in crime". Observe his facial expressions when he announces to Paul that his girlfriend is expecting a child. An amazing performance. Last but not least, Patricia Clarkson turns in yet another fine supporting turn as Paul's long-suffering mother. Elvira is a women who is trying so hard to hold on to what she has, while at the same time... striving for something more.
REAL GIRLS is a film about the awkward and heartbreaking nature of raw and naive love. It is gentle, bittersweet, unflinching... and so damn powerful.
Paul Schneider heads the cast as Paul, a local kid with a bad reputation for toying around with several women. He soon finds himself falling truly in his best friend's (Shea Whigam) beloved sister, Noel (Zooey Deschanel). Noel has never been in a serious relationship, and neither has Paul. But... will their individual flaws ruin their only chance at love?
Schneider is very good as the torn Paul. You can see his transformation into a young man trying to get his life on track. Zooey Deschanel is stunning in every way, and it is so easy to see why Paul is willing to change himself for her. I sense a star in the making...
Shea Whigam is remarkable as Tip, Paul's "partner in crime". Observe his facial expressions when he announces to Paul that his girlfriend is expecting a child. An amazing performance. Last but not least, Patricia Clarkson turns in yet another fine supporting turn as Paul's long-suffering mother. Elvira is a women who is trying so hard to hold on to what she has, while at the same time... striving for something more.
REAL GIRLS is a film about the awkward and heartbreaking nature of raw and naive love. It is gentle, bittersweet, unflinching... and so damn powerful.