Cyrus

Stars: John C Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener, Matt Walsh, Tim Guinee, Kathy Wittes

Director: Jay & Mark Duplass

Divorcee John (Reilly), encouraged to go to a party by his ex-wife (Keener), meets Molly (Tomei) and thinks his life has changed for better. That's until he meets her creepy son Cyrus (Hill, from Get Him to the Greek) who, while outwardly affable enough, is determined to keep himself and his mother together as a single family unit.

That's the whole deal and there's little the directors can do to prevent the ensuing film from becoming unutterably boring, as Cyrus' mean and insidious little schemes are all the movie has to offer. Despite the excellence of the leading performances, the whole thing needed a lot more spark.

It's a 30-minute short story stretched out (just about) to feature length and you won't care for any of the characters involved - least of all John, who should obviously run a mile. The camerawork is wobbly too, but then Hill's Cyrus is enough to give anyone the shakes.

David Quinlan

USA 2010. UK Distributor: 20th Century Fox (Fox Searchlight). Colour by FotoKem.
90 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 09 Sep 2010