Sideways (2004) [second viewing]

You wanna know what makes this film so great? It allows its characters to be intelligent and self-aware, and isn't afraid to show them being obnoxious or dislikeable. Yet it accomplishes this without losing our sympathy (unlike Payne's previous film About Schmidt). And the scene that clinches it for me is Giamatti's pinot noir monologue. Critics of the film dismiss the scene (and the metaphor) as too on-the-nose, but study Giamatti's inflection and body language during the scene. It's supposed to be too on-the-nose -- Miles is trying to be clever and poetic with the whole damaged-goods, gee-I'm-fragile pose. What's brilliant about the scene is that Maya listens, observes, understands and then stares him straight in the face and calls his bluff. Just when we think the film's foregrounding its subtext, it shifts gears and turns it into a perfect character moment. The ability to make beauty out of flaws -- that's why I love this fucking movie.

Grade: A