PASSENGERS
RYAN: You know I’ll see any movie with Anne Hathaway in it; but add to the mix Patrick Wilson, one of the hottest actors in Hollywood in terms of stardom and physical hotness, and nothing could keep me from seeing “Passengers.”
CAROLINE: I was on board with it until I read a hideous review, saw that it didn’t even break the top 10 in its opening weekend and realized that it must suck since Anne Hathaway wasn’t doing even one iota of promotion for it. Plus, unlike you, I don’t like Anne that much.
RYAN: I’m surprised to hear you say that because even though I know you don’t love Anne, you loved the trailer for this film. And I’m here to tell you it’s incredible – I was totally blown away by it. And I went in with very low expectations because this movie had so little buzz. I did like the trailer, but I was so not prepared for my reaction to this film.
CAROLINE: How so?
RYAN: Honestly, for the first hour of the movie, I thought it was confusing and slow and kind of disorganized and all over the place. But then the last half hour was one of the most amazing thirty minutes of a movie. I think it’s rare for a weird movie to turn so good; more often, movies start out good and then go downhill. But this one turns out so good at the end.
CAROLINE: Why? Did it get supernatural? I know you love that.
RYAN: No. It’s not supernatural, actually. I don’t know why they were billing it as a supernatural thriller. It was so moving and emotional. I cried more in this film than I almost ever have before.
CAROLINE: Wait – you never cry in movies.
RYAN: I know, it was crazy. I almost melted into the chair. What happened in the movie struck such an emotional chord with me that even thinking about it now I can’t believe how this movie made me feel. It’s an important albeit sad movie that I think people would enjoy.
CAROLINE: Is anyone else famous in it?
RYAN: I’ll break it down: Anne Hathaway gives an incredible performance. There’s no trace of “The Princess Diaries” left in her. She looks much more adult, and she’s really a woman in this role. Patrick Wilson is really good, as is Dianne Wiest as Anne’s neighbor. Clea DuVall from “Girl, Interrupted” is also in it and I really like her. They play survivors of a plane crash and Anne is their grief counselor.
CAROLINE: I like the premise.
RYAN: You know how we get so excited for every M. Night Shyamalan film and then they always turn out to be lousy? This movie is like a good M. Night film. Like it’s an M. Night Shyamalan film that wasn’t written or directed by him. It was terrific.
CAROLINE: What’s your bottom line?
RYAN: It’s wonderful.
CAROLINE: A third of it is anyway.
RYAN: Yeah, it definitely starts out slow. Given all the bad buzz we’d heard, I figured, “Oh, this is why everyone is hating on this movie. It doesn’t make sense and it’s slow.” But then it turns into this brilliance and I realized, “Oh, it doesn’t suck; it’s just kind of slow-moving.” Like “Changeling” – it’s very slow paced, but we loved it. “Passengers” is worthy.