Gerry (film)
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| Gerry | |
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| Directed by | Gus Van Sant |
| Produced by | Dany Wolf |
| Written by | Casey Affleck Matt Damon Gus Van Sant |
| Starring | Matt Damon Casey Affleck |
| Music by | Arvo Pärt |
| Distributed by | Independent Films ThinkFilm Inc. |
| Release date(s) | 14 February 2003 |
| Running time | 103 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,500,000 (estimated) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Gerry is a 2002 film directed by Gus Van Sant, written by and starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. It was shot in a semi-improvised style with a small crew in Argentina, Death Valley, and the Utah Salt Flats, and is dedicated to the memory of Ken Kesey.
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[edit] Plot
Gerry is about two driving companions, both called Gerry. "Gerry", a slang term used by Matt Damon and Ben and Casey Affleck meaning "screw up," [1] is used several times in the film as a verb or adjective in addition to being used as a proper noun. Van Sant revealed in interviews that Damon and Affleck used the term before the movie had even been named.[1] The characters are apparently on a hike to view a "thing" at the end of a wilderness trail, but after some walking, talking, and a short foot race they agree on their mutual disinterest in the site and decide to turn around. They soon realize that they are lost in the desert.
After several days of wandering around mostly in silence, both protagonists collapse due to fatigue and dehydration. The weaker of the two (Affleck) proclaims that he is "leaving." Whereupon, Damon struggles on top of Affleck, dispassionately strangling him. After some time, he's awakened by the sound of an engine and rises to his feet. Walking only a few hundred yards or so, he discovers a busy highway on the horizon. Gerry catches a ride with a family, whom he watches in awkward silence.
The plot of the film closely resembles the events surrounding the death of David Coughlin, who was killed by his friend Raffi Kodikian after the two got lost in Rattlesnake Canyon in New Mexico. It also bears a resemblance to the confirmed true Darwin Award story called "Dry Spell" where a man on a survival hike died of dehydration only a half mile from his truck[2] It is the first film of Van Sant's "Death Trilogy", three films based on true-life murders.
[edit] Further reading
- Narrativity - in contrast to the approach adopted for this film.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Gerry at the Internet Movie Database
- http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/260308/Gerry/overview New York Times review
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