Cyrus

With Cyrus, writer/director siblings Jay and Mark Duplass deftly balance awkward, painful comedy with some genuine warmth, but they end up softening the edges of their prickly tale. John (John C. Reilly) is drunk and depressed when he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei, paired with yet another actor with, um, unconventional leading-man looks), who is sweet, pretty, and seems to like him. But it quickly becomes clear that Molly's adult son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill), has no intention of giving up his position as the only man in her life. Reilly adeptly conveys John's shifting emotional state, and Tomei meets the challenge of convincing us that Molly is a smart, caring woman, who is drawn to John's sincerity and has a blind spot when it comes to her son. The real surprise here is Hill's raw and disturbingly funny performance. Shorn of his customary mop of hair, Hill plays Cyrus as a coiled ball of resentment and rage. In the end, though, Hill is more courageous than the filmmakers. Incorporating verite-style realism found in their earlier mumblecore films, Cyrus is the Duplass brothers' most mature work to date, but, after developing three uniquely compelling characters, the movie goes mushy rather than risk losing the audience by contending with their issues more honestly.