Written and directed by Matthew Weiner. Cinematography by Chris Manley
Let's just jump into 'Are You Here.' We open with a trick of editing.
As a way to get us familiar with Steve's (Owen Wilson) sexual proclivities they cut to various women through the scene. You've seen similar sequences in 'Wedding Crashers' and 'Good Luck Chuck'.
They even use different hair colors for each to let us know he's indiscriminate. Steve will jump on whatever hoovers into his field of vision.
When we're introduced to Ben (Zach Galifianakis) we get a time lapse effect which normally would be used for comedy. In this case Weiner uses it to describe Ben's manic depression.
You'll notice he frantically runs around the house until he has something to put in his mouth. It's not uncommon for people with mental health issues like depression to use food or cigarettes as coping devices. The whole bit was a great use of technique to demonstrate Ben's inner workings, even before we really know what's going on with him.
The second they cut to the shot below you could feel these two were going to kiss. It's like the standard first kiss angle. We can only see half their bodies, so you have the two halves becoming whole construct. Their eye lines are perfectly in sync and the lighting is soft and romantic. The world in the background is faded out, as if it's fallen down leaving just these two.
And you know what? I loved the final scene, I felt it left you with a lot of unpack about the how we view a persons place in society. Especially people who are diagnosed as different from the norm.
From a technical standpoint I'll point out the use of Ben's eye line.
In the two shots above we can follow what Ben is looking at by eye line and editing. We make the connection he is watching the real horse trot by, pulling the Amish fellow.
Again we have the same idea but with his eye line leading to the fake horsey ride the kid is on. The ending is the pay off to a slow burn running through the film regarding mental health. I got the feeling Ben looked at these horses and there was no difference between the real and fake one. Both had been tamed and enslaved by more powerful men. Is the horse content in it's usefulness? Does the horse feel better knowing it's life has purpose, no matter how trivial? If the horse no longer fits in, if he no longer wanted to pull the cart, what would his fate be? The glue factory or the nut house?
Recommended. It could have been shorter, with a tighter script but Weiner and Manley are skillful enough to keep the story flowing and the visual imagery interesting.
**Warning Animal Violence
