In Ruby Sparks, leading character Calvin
Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) is a young novelist, struggling to recreate the success
of his first novel. After being given a writing task by his therapist, Calvin
sets out to create a character who likes Scotty, his rather uninspiring dog. He
dreams up a girl named Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) and inspired at long last, he begins
to write about her. However Calvin soon falls in love with his creation, which
is only made more problematic when Ruby comes to life.
Directed by
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little
Miss Sunshine), Ruby Sparks is a
comedic indie flick, telling the story of a struggling relationship between a
novelist and his creation. The central themes of the story are deeply rooted
from the start, as we see Calvin living with his loneliness as well as his need
to control everything in his life. Ruby’s existence offers him companionship,
but his reliance on her is ironically the cause of the pair’s ensuing issues.
Dano and Kazan
are superb as Calvin and Ruby and their on screen chemistry is charming and
believable (which is only helped by the pair’s real life relationship). Ruby Sparks also features appearances
from Calvin’s friend and fellow author, Langdon Tharp (Steve Coogan), as well
as Mort (Antonio Banderas) as the boyfriend to Calvin’s mother. Calvin’s
brother, Harry (Chris Messina), serves as the catalyst for many of the film’s more
light-hearted moments, injecting a shot of comedy in whatever scene he appears
in.
The script
(which was written by Kazan) manages to maintain the right direction throughout
the film’s entirety. The pacing is also well executed as we are catapulted from
scene to scene with drastic changes of emotion. One moment you’ll be laughing
with the on-screen couple, and as little as five minutes later you’ll be
fraught with worry as you find yourself caught up in the ever increasing
conflicts between Calvin and what appears to be just about everyone else.
Ruby Sparks is very comfortable with what it is: an off-beat romantic comedy,
tinged with intelligent commentary that looks at everything from the modern
mind; the struggles of being alone, as well as the concept of bringing others
down to nothing more than an idea of how we see them. Asides from its
supernatural elements, Ruby Sparks is
very much grounded in reality and submerged in its 21st century issues.
Despite all of
this, Ruby Sparks still makes time
for a fun and watchable experience. While the ideas it presents are seemingly
straight forwards, the film opens itself up to much debate once the credits begin
to roll. Ruby Sparks is an exceptional
film, one that many indie flicks should aspire to be as good as.
4/5
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