Gore Verbinski
The Weather Man

THE REVIEW

02:18.

I am writing this brief review following the movie "The Weather Man", aired on Retequattro around 11:40 PM on a monotonous April evening. Dave Spritz is 'the weatherman' of Chicago. Due to his success (although not shared by everyone), Spritz is offered a position on national TV, but while his career is sailing smoothly, his relationship with his family is falling apart.

The ex-wife is about to remarry, the plump daughter is unhappy, and the son (who incidentally is Nicholas Hoult, the boy from "About a Boy") is the center of morbid attention from his bothersome psychologist. Not to mention the father (Michael Caine), a famous writer, who is dying from a severe illness. In trying to regain control of the situation, David slowly realizes that life, much more than the weather, is unpredictable. The plot (if one focuses on the role of the protagonist as a victim of continuous misfortunes) might unwittingly come close to that of the later "Serious Man," but it doesn't.

It always oscillates between the trivial and the engaging, supported by a Verbinski who directs a fresh film that feels new, independent, like a young music video director who has just started making films. The scenes are well edited on an electronic and metallic support, which is the excellent soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. The cinematography is stylistically Northern European, cold and minimal but with touches of brilliant color, like the music, and it only serves to take a back seat to the excellent performance of the actors.

In short, this "The Weather Man" is a good film both visually and from a screenplay perspective (excellent dialogues and the strokes of genius in Dave's mental journeys). Perhaps a bit underrated, perhaps not exceptional, but certainly noteworthy.

A must-see.