The Juke

Author(s): Douglas Reese (MI)
The Juke

Directed by Tamara Jenkins
Written by Robert Dillon
Produced by Brad Grey, Keith Gordon, Tamara Jenkins, and Marc Turtletaub
Edited by Curtiss Clayton
Cinematography by Michael Ballhaus
Original Score by Brian Reitzell

Cast:

Ryan Gosling … Robert Grooms
Jena Malone … Brianna Kirker
Alan Arkin … Jimmy

Tagline: “Pain Only Helps”

Plot: Sitting steadily in the chair, Robert recollects all the things that Dr. Reed would tell the whole class. The same words would be forcibly ripped from his personal insides: “Hi, I’m Robert and I am an alcoholic.”

He never began to drink away his guilt until May 3rd of that year; when guilt actually took its first assault on him. The sheriff would arrive and call in the life squad – an unnecessary action when her lifeless body would just still be hanging from that tree. The guilt would come mostly from Robert’s unwillingness to grasp onto his wife’s dilemmas. But most of all would come from his own difficulty of dropping his womanizing addiction.

And now the women have become stale, and the alcohol - the compulsion.

When the bottle is not to his lips, Robert picks at his guitar and sings those old countryside songs his dad used to play. Every song fueled without joy and instead - presented with an enthusiastic voice of grief.

To pay off his crummy apartment and for his alcoholic necessitates, Robert works at The Jukebox – a bar packed with every town drunk and party girl, booming with business although hidden behind the looming woods of Southern Ohio. He is well loved by the crowds there and when he sings, most of the members stop to stare at his performance. Robert also finds cherishment in an old friend of his, Jimmy. A 72-year-old legless Vietnam veteran, Jimmy is a stubborn man but a father figure to Robert. But things turn for the worse as Robert has to say goodbye to Jimmy, who travels to Florida in order to find tranquility.

But it is not long until one particular person arrives at “The Juke”. One that Robert brings a higher state of emotion into his lyrics as he sings one night.

Brianna Kirker, Robert’s high school girlfriend from Charleston , West Virginia . An unusual run-in miles and years away from a past romance that faded down the road. Robert chats with Brianna who states how she is heading for Chicago to get away from her abusive boyfriend and the reminiscences of her 4-year-old son whom was found murdered at the school park. She is blunt with her personally affecting issues, and for the Robert acts in both surprise and in appreciation; this action raises confidence for Robert to be open about his fiancé’s suicide.

She had been staying in her car, parking in alleys and store lots, hoping to sleep away her painful memories that she wishes would stay back in Charleston . Memories so hard to forget that they torture her more the farther she tries to flee from them. Robert offers his help, allowing her to stay in his apartment. Although the rooms are trashed, bottles scattered endlessly around the floors, he only thinks about how she would need the help. His helping hands aid his own haunting feelings of losing someone.

The next morning, Brianna wakes up. No more oceans of bottles floating around, the apartment is cleaned up in a manly, “still-dusty” kind of way. Robert sits in his La-Z-Boy, a smile, a beer in his hand. The two go out for breakfast at The Juke and begin to talk more about what they have lived through for the long nine years since high school. The relationships, the losses, the commitments, and the forgotten. But the two also look back on their own high school experiences, laugh over the times when he sung and she danced for public fans of their old band, and then become moved by the thoughts of how things may have actually worked. But Robert declares to himself that he may not be able to love again. Brianna says she understands.

To carry on the day, Robert shows Brianna around the town. Showing the beautiful country landscape, sitting by the creeks where the two remember moments alone by a creek in Charleston . It was at that time that the two would share their first romantic experience and while Robert doesn’t want to admit it, this moment still sparks a cherishment deep down in his soul.

After the day goes by, it finally becomes nighttime. The two return to The Juke, where Robert plays a few songs, ending with a completely happy, bubbly tune that only helps bring forth positive vibes between both Robert and Brianna. She walks on the stage and dances in front of the drunken audience, smiling. A performance that holds the two close; played on a night at The Juke, where two friends relive each other’s happiest times.

After the performance, the two walk out to Brianna’s car. She doesn’t want to, but she knows she has to go. Robert is aware of why, and he hugs her. She cries, offering him a ride home. He’d rather stay at the bar longer. She gets into the car and rolls down her window. Robert smiles, and she returns one back. She starts the car and pulls out onto the road as she drives away. Robert returns to the bar. Offered a beer, he just smiles.

What the Press Would Say:

With “The Juke”, Tamara Jenkins heads in another destination unlike any of her previous films. Taking on a dramatic human story with some of the wry and gritty horrors of life itself, Jenkins also fixes the film up with dark comedic moments, mainly focusing on the humor of human nature. Jenkins beautifully takes Robert Dillon’s masterfully done script and turns it into a wonderful movie lesson about finding hope through the good memories when stuck in a world of regret. The film also manages to pull together a powerful theme of how a man can be trapped by his own uncontrollable emotions, and still manages to show a wonderful story that enthralls its viewers to relate to, and be touched by, these two human beings who help one another through each other’s personal horrors. And to illustrate this tale, Jenkins casts Ryan Gosling as Robert Grooms. The sometimes quiet, sometimes bouncy performer that waddles through his life day by day, regretting his unfaithful behavior to his fiancé, and finding calmness in a cold bottle of booze. And Gosling’s performance is all so subtle that once his character meets up with Brianna Kirker, he begins to find that she is a much better remedy to his problems that any drop of alcohol.

As Brianna Kirker, Jena Malone brings humanity and trust to the screen. A wonderful mixture that she portrays so exceptionally that when she talks to Robert, you can see why he finds bliss in her, she is a very down-to-earth girl, even though she is obviously emotionally-scorched just as much, although in a different way, as Robert is. A bravura stand-out scene comes from both Malone and Gosling when the two recall the night they lost their virginity to one another. A very soft-spoken but emotional conversation by the creek, in which brings so much depth to the past connection between both characters. Jenkins masterfully directs the scene to where we feel that old emotion seeping through the screen, and we feel, understand, and connect with Robert and Brianna’s relationship.

A small cast, but one ecstatically acted, Alan Arkin finishes the list off as war veteran Jimmy. The man in the wheelchair that lives next door to Robert, and the man that helps Robert fend off to losing his sanity. But also a man that has to leave Robert behind for his own peace and freedom for himself. A father-like figure to Robert and a willful man in need of finishing his life with his own dream, Jimmy is a kind soul, but immovable. Small, but powerful, Arkin leaves an impression of the viewer as much as the impression he leaves on Robert when Jimmy hops into a van with his “woman” and drives away for Florida, a place Jimmy has always dreamed of fleeing to.

Tamara Jenkins tells this simple story with high doses of honesty. Never does the film back down from being too realistic, and never does it want you to take it as a life-changing experience. The film instead works on making the viewer realize that for many, living through these occurrences is relevant. Sometimes they are tough situations to dig out of. But also, there can be hope for many, sometimes in another person who is scarred with the same emotions. Robert Dillon (2000’s “Waking the Dead”) brings a surreal screenplay to help give the film its true emotional center. Sprouting realistic, sometimes edgy dialogue and telling the story in straightforward fashion, not showing anything but the present and only seeing the emotional moments in the past through the characters’ own words. A truly wonderful comedy-drama, without sentiment, “The Juke” is a daring example that Tamara Jenkins is a sensational director whom fuels her movies with pure emotion, and brings the viewer a beautiful connection, without playing it too bold.

For Your Consideration:

Best Picture
Best Director – Tamara Jenkins
Best Original Screenplay – Robert Dillon
Best Actor – Ryan Gosling
Best Actress – Jena Malone
Best Supporting Actor – Alan Arkin