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Sur le papier, Harvey Pekar est un être détestable. Documentaliste dans un hôpital, il relate son histoire et celles de ses proches dans des bandes dessinées underground. Misanthrope, geignard, grincheux, il a tout d’une version cynique d’un Droopy de banlieue de Cleveland. Pourtant Harvey Pekar est aussi un être drôle, incisif et très attachant.
Racontant son histoire en voix-off, Pekar est alors interprété à l’écran par Paul Giamatti (Storytelling, L’homme sur la lune) dans une version fictionnalisée de la vie de l’homme. Si le mélange réalité-fiction est déjà savoureux, les cinéastes lui ajoutent de façon très inventive une illustration des bandes dessinées même de Pekar, et voilà que le dessin intervient dans l’image pour donner au film une texture riche, ambitieuse et originale. Sans jamais être confus, très drôle, le film apporte également une réflexion sur la création tout à fait pertinente et a été récompensé du prix de la critique internationale, du prix de la société nationale des critiques américains, des critiques réunis à Toronto et du grand prix du festival Sundance en 2003. – Helen Faradji.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's a wonderful life,
By
This review is from: American Splendor (Widescreen) (DVD)
Disgruntled file clerk and social misfit Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) lucks into a degree of fame, if not fortune, when underground comics legend Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak) collaborates with him on a comic about his life. Pekar lives in a state of existential misery, desperately lonely and angry about his outsider status. His comics, though, make him a kind of hero to average suffering folks and even bring him a little family by the end of the film (his wife, Joyce Brabner, is wonderfully played by Hope Davis). We are left with the sense that life never has and never will be smooth sailing for Pekar, but the struggle has its own worth and nobility and, in the end, will bring you more than mere surrender ever will. This may be a rather sweet, conventional message for a film that aims to be so subversive and counter-cultural, but it is reassuring all the same.Writer/directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini employ a mix of animation, documentary and bio-pic conventions to relate their story, with varying degrees of success. Showing excerpts of Harvey's actual appearances on the David Letterman Show instead of recreating them with actors is a stroke of genius and I appreciated the unapologetic, direct way these sequences were handled: we see Paul Giamatti waiting in the wings, followed by a cut to the real Harvey walking out onto the stage. At other times, such as having the real Harvey comment on the actor chosen to play him, it seems somewhat contrived and echoes a complaint that he makes during the film of having been co-opted by the system. All in all, a very entertaining, interesting film with wonderful performances. PS: I can't end my review without mentioning Judah Friedlander's wonderfully quirky, hilarious, and touching performance as uber-nerd Toby Radloff. Certain key characters also appear as themselves during the film.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Paul Giamatti is pure Gold....,
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This review is from: American Splendor (Widescreen) (DVD)
Although I never read any of Harvey Pekar's comic books, I did see some of his appearances on David Letterman. I was surprised to see a whole movie made about his life. That being said, I was completely captivated by this heart warming story of this quirky, everyday man and the trials and triumphs of his life. Paul Giamatti is one of our times greatest character actors and he is aptly suited to this difficult role. The film brings to life some of the strangest characters in Harvey Pekar's odd little world, including counter-culture cartoonist Robert Crumb. Laughs abound amongst serious topics but are handled beautifully in this well made indie gem. Even if you're not familiar with Harvey Pekar or comic books in general the story is very human and relatable.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nowhere Man,
By
This review is from: American Splendor (Widescreen) (DVD)
The Plot: Harvey Pekar took his dead-end life as a file clerk in the early Eighties and became a minor celebrity by basing a hit cult comic around himself. From the difficulties of being stuck in line at a supermarket through to battling Cancer, his work is brilliantly portrayed as the film uses a mix of animation, the perfectly cast Giamatti, while blending both archive footage and recent narration by the real life Pekar perfectly. Standout Scene: As reality is suspended briefly the actors take a backseat to listen to Pekar & the supremely funny Toby Radloff take centre stage. Any Good? Pekar once called out David Letterman's talk show as manipulative shtick and American Splendor makes no bones about giving one in the eye to the establishment too. This is a genuinely funny film from the ultimate 'anti-American-Dreamer,' and should definitely not be missed.
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