Don Verdean (2015)

Must See Movie...

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

I had to review this because I can't believe all the hate it's getting. It's not gonna win any awards but I can appreciate the mocking of many mindsets and it never takes itself to seriously. Well worth a watch.

Don Verdean wants to be a wacky satire on religion but falls short as it is not funny nor sharp enough despite some nice understated performances from the leads.Sam Rockwell is biblical archaeologist Don Verdean who with the aid of his Israeli contact Boaz (Jemaine Clement) has illegally excavated supposedly rare religious artefacts from dubious sources.However Verdean is on hard times, his congregation has become smaller and it has become harder to shift his books which his assistant Carol Jensen (Amy Ryan) has noticed.Pastor Tony Lazarus (Danny McBride) with his former hooker wife has also seen attendance at his church fall from a rival former satanist now a born again Christian pastor Denis Fontaine (Will Forte.) He contacts Verdean with a promise of funding in order to find more relics in the Holy Land.Verdean and Boaz cut corners and finds a big pillar of salt that is supposed to be Lot's wife and then Goliath's skull which Fontaine becomes suspicious about. Then a Chinese billionaire contacts them to find the holy grail.Rockwell gives a restrained performance, we sense he is a small time con man making a dishonest living from the gullible. It is only when Boaz gets greedy that Verdean finds himself coming up with more and more lies which become increasingly elaborate.However the film moved along nicely, it had heart but the satire was way off base.

Most of the negative reviews you see for "Don Verdean" are the same as the negative reviews for "Gentleman Broncos." It all boils down to one basic idea: "This movie isn't enough like other movies I like." Professional reviewers and users alike miss the boat on these movies because they want them to fit in a neat little package. You'll hear a lot about how they didn't feel the movie worked as a straight comedy, or straight drama, or that mixing biblical jokes with more adolescent jokes doesn't work. They are missing the point. This is not meant to be a single genre, or even really a mix of genres, instead it is an examination of characters, ideas, and themes.Unlike many other movies, "Don Verdean" (and "Gentleman Broncos," for that matter) is not looking to work as a whole, indeed these movies reject the idea of balance and chemistry as proscribed by mainstream films. Instead, DV is about about the details. Each moment of the movie has been engineered, largely without a thought for the other moments. In the Hess world, if something is interesting that's reason enough to include it, regardless of how it fits together with other pieces.It's not inherently worse than other films (in fact, you'll see tremendous talent in the film-making, the acting, and the script); it's just a completely different approach. So see "Don Verdean," not because it's more of what you already like (and have) but because it isn't.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is uniquely funny, and even totally hilarious when Jemaine Clement lavishes his Hebrew brogue on the viewer. The movie is a universe in itself, and not just the story of one man Donald Verdean, a preacher turned conman. The whole Mid-West or Bible Belt is caricatured in such a way that you can only smile at the fondness contained in the implied criticism. It is never mean. Jared Hess rules! I'd been a fan since NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. I relish the sight of his little tribe, starting with Rockwell and Clement, and the way those guys make you believe in second degree, totally unbelievable tales. Way to go!