[yasr_overall_rating]
A lonely, neurotic and hilariously honest middle-aged man reunites with his estranged wife and meets his teenage daughter for the first time.
“Wilson” is an interesting film. One that starts off slow but about halfway through, it finds its grips and really succeeds in what it is trying to say. At the beginning of the film, you meet Wilson, played by Woody Harrelson. The character is an isolated type that blames current culture for his problems and would like to go back to the days that he sees as great. The character is one that disregards social norms and doesn’t really work very well. A graphic novel can portray this very well in its combination of art and letters but sometimes that’s where a character and a story need to stay. What makes us feel for a character is that they can level with us, they seem human and carry the values that we do. Wilson doesn’t really seem to evolve all that much throughout the film. It’s more of the fact that the world seems to evolve around him. He’s the angry white male who seems to not care about anything in current society and he would love to tell you about it. This fact doesn’t change. The thing is, if you fight this idea, if you only look at it through that lens, you probably won’t make it through the film. If you let go, however, you will be pleasantly surprised. Its light-hearted comedic take on the character and the world around him is at times, really enjoyable.
The film begins to find its way when Wilson’s father dies and he finds the feeling of loneliness trying to attach itself to him so he finds his ex-wife Pippi (Laura Dern). Together they find his daughter he thought she had aborted and the fiasco goes on from there. The film seems to forego plausibility once the base is set. Is it believable that your ex-wife would show up right at the same time your father died? Is it conceivable that you would also find out your biological daughter would be living in the same town as you all along? Or that she is an isolationist just like you and is needing help in life? Credibility is something that this film requires but is sorely missing.
Every act is focused on Wilson and not many other characters seem to find the spotlight. It is this aspect that makes the movie one that is sub-par. You need a strong character to take up the limelight for an hour and a half and Wilson isn’t it. He ends up being the old man who interrupts your day to bring you facts and views that don’t matter and are unsolicited. “Wilson” could have been a great film if the comedy and the character were grounded in the situational comedy way but it just didn’t happen.
In theaters March 24th
