Leaves Of Grass

It is no put-down to compare writer-director Tim Blake Nelson's Leaves Of Grass to the films of the Coen Brothers. It shares with the latter's work an ironically twisted sense of humour and a fondness for  tales of skulduggery committed by eccentric characters from the sticks but it is certainly no copycat effort.

Edward Norton plays twin brothers, Bill Kincaid, a Harvard Classics Professor who has turned his back on his hillbilly roots for pursuits of the mind, and Brady, his identical twin, a likeable ne’er-do-well who has remained in their Oklahoma home town, Little Dixie, with their pot-head mother (Susan Sarandon) and invested his considerable intelligence in a state-of-the-art marijuana farm that has only one problem  - it has left him in the debt of the region’s drug boss, Pug Rothbaum (Richard Dreyfuss).

With a marvellous against-the-grain performance from Norton as the Okie redneck Brady (brother Billy is more the self-contained Norton we are used to), the film is grounded in a zesty script from Nelson which has some smart dialogue and a deliciously over-the-top style that saves it from feeling too familiar in its essential odd couple-cum-weekend from hell concept and red-neck characterisations.Also appearing as Brady's best friend, Bolger, Nelson is an actor who you will recognize from movies such as Holes (2003) and the Coens' 2000 hillbilly comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Although the sub-plot involving Billy with sweet poetry-writing schoolteacher, Janet (Keri Russell), is a little too cute a way of getting Walt Whitman into the mix, Nelson demonstrates that he is much more than just a support player. His Leaves Of Grass indicates a skillful film-maker with a lively intelligence.

 

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