Slow, but steady, Payne's 'Sideways' rings true

Ultra-realism, especially of the slow-moving variety, is not terribly trendy in modern American film. However, Alexander Payne's ("About Schmitt" and "Election") latest picture "Sideways, which is based on a novel by Rex Pickett pulls the genre off well. Despite its dragging start and deliberately mediocre characters, "Sideways" cuts to the core of many difficulties of the middle-aged human condition, appealing to a wider audience than the obsessive wine lovers it profiles.

Paul Giamatti("Man on the Moon" and "American Splendor") plays Miles Raymond, a failed writer and divorcee struggling to come to terms with the truth of his life as a middle-school teacher. When Miles's best friend Jack (Thomas Hayden Church of "George of the Jungle 1 and 2") decides to get married, Miles takes him on a trip from San Diego to Napa Valley to sample wine, play golf and celebrate Jack's last week of freedom. Full of an unlimited supply of testosterone and facing impending marriage and Miles's depression, Jack makes the conquest of women the pair's goal for the week. The cautious, negative, self-hating Miles, anxiously waiting to hear if his latest book will be picked up by a publisher, resents Jack's adventurism and carelessness, but is carried along for the ride by his loyalty. As the two meet women, get in trouble and discover more about themselves and one another, we understand these two quirky mediocrities at a deeper level that informs us not only on their idiosyncrasies, but on many deep truths of the human character.

Alexander Payne's direction and veteran Phedon Papamichael's ("Patch Adams" and "Cool Runnings") cinematography clearly show through in the variety of cleverly constructed scenes and originally shot frames. The performances are quite good; Paul Giamatti continues his ascent into the ranks of the great and Thomas Hayden Church does a convincing job in a quite shallow role. Despite an unconscionably detailed focus on the minutia of wine, the screenplay has its clever moments and we leave with a deep insight into the characters and the tribulations of middle-age.

However, for one of the best-received films of the year, "Sideways" did not impress me much. Its astoundingly slow start, extreme specificity of mediocre characters and deliberate targeting of a middle-aged demographic made it difficult for me to relate to this picture and my guess would be that many Princetonians would feel the same. However, if you are interested in pouring a bit more than two hours of your life into understanding the difficulty, depression and mediocrity that awaits you in your middle age, this isn't a bad way to do it. Otherwise, there are probably better ways to spend your Friday evening. The film shows at the Princeton Garden Theatre on Nassau and Washington at 11:30 a.m., 2, 4:30, 7:15 and 10 p.m. on the weekends and 6:45 and 9:15 p.m. during the week for $6.50 with a prox.