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Acting
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Directing
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Story
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei
Director: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Running Time: 91 mins
Cyrus is an American film about a divorced man who falls for an amazing woman, but soon realises he must compete with her overprotective son, Cyrus, for her affections.
I had a lot of fun with this film. Just slightly offbeat but still with all the appeal of a mainstream comedy, Cyrus is full of laughs and some deliciously dark twists, brought to life by a fantastic lead trio of performances from John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei.
At first, Cyrus plays out like any normal romantic comedy. Man meets woman, yadda yadda yadda. But the first of the film’s delightfully off-kilter twists comes as the dynamic shifts from a romance between John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei to a bizarre triangle including Tomei’s son, played by Jonah Hill.
Now, there’s no denying that this kind of scenario is something that crops up all the time in the real world, as one person feels affection for them is being robbed by a newcomer. But Cyrus takes it a little bit further, and that’s where the fun begins.
Though there are moments of touching drama, and the dynamic between John C. Reilly’s clearly very caring character and Marisa Tomei’s equally sympathetic character is lovely to watch, the film is without doubt at its best when its pushing the boundaries with some deliciously dark comedy.
Most of that comes in the form of the battle between John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill, who spar with each other all the while trying to keep appearances up with Marisa Tomei, both of whom they effectively want to win from the other’s hands.
As things escalate, the comedy gets more and more ludicrous, making for some great laughs that still work alongside the film’s impressively grounded and emotionally captivating plot, right up to the moment the credits roll.
There’s a lot to love about Cyrus, and perhaps the only really odd thing about it is its mockumentary-style camerawork, which feels a little out of place in an intimate and scripted comedy-drama. Otherwise, this is a really fun movie, with good laughs, great characters and strong emotion throughout, so that’s why I’m giving Cyrus a 7.6 overall.
