All the Real Girls

A lothario in a small North Carolina town starts what may be his first meaningful relationship with a young girl home from boarding school, much to the chagrin of her older brother who is also his best friend. All the Real Girls is the sophomore outing for David Gordon Green. Following George Washington, he took all the elements he successully used in that film while ironing out the ones that didn't work so well and the result is an extremely satisfying film where he seems to have honed his directorial skills. Tim Orr's cinematagrophy once again beautifully captures the small town locations and landscapes. The characters in the story are captivating as we come to care about them. Paul Schneider who also cowrote the story is wonderful as the goofy yet charming ladies man, and the adorable Zooey Deschanel does fine work in an early role as the apple of his eye. Shea Whigham gives a nice performance as Deschanel's older brother, Danny McBride is humourous as a member of the crew, and Patricia Clarkson gives her usual sunny performance as Schneider's free spirited mom. While I felt that some of the scenes in the film didn't feel right, the movie as a whole is a wonderful slice of life as well as a touching love story. With his second feature, David Gordon Green seemed to have found his directorial footing, which he would demonstrate again in films like Undertow and Snow Angels. Hopefully he will give up the big budget comedies which he has engaged in recently and return to the small town low budget films which he makes so wonderfully.