While Terrence Malick is definitely the indirect influence for Green's early career, I still like to give direct credit to David Gordon Green and his debut feature George Washington for kicking off this new generation of southern-based poetic indie films. Green pretty much took the style that Malick reemerged with in 1998 (The Thin Red Line) and veered off in to a different lane. Clearly a young 26 year old director (like Green was at the time of GW's debut) wasn't the first to show a different side of the American south in the year 2000, but ever since the heavily Malick-influenced George Washington debuted, more & more films that were similar in tone & atmosphere began to emerge. You know - films like; Mud, Take Shelter, New Jerusalem, Ballast, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Undertow, As I Lay Dying, All The Real Girls, etc. You could even throw Upstream Color in to the mix given it's dreamy atmosphere along with director Shane Carruth's southern roots.
While I only really like some of the aforementioned works (Ballast, All The Real Girls & Upstream Color) and find the rest to be "ok" (Shotgun Stories), Overrated (Mud), very problematic (Beasts Of The Southern Wild & Ain't Them Bodies Saints) or just plain bad (Take Shelter), they all still show a more complex & poetic side of the American south that can be traced back to Green and his early work.
With recent stuff like Our Brand Is Crisis & The Sitter, some would say that David Gordon Green has moved on from "The New South", but his work on shows like Eastbound & Down & Vice Principals (along with semi-recent films like Joe) shows that his Southern roots are still intact...
MALE BONDING
David Gordon Green doesn't get enough credit for showing the sometimes sensitive side of men and their/our ability to bond with one another. Prior to stuff like
Our Brand Is Crisis &
The Sitter, almost every film he made dealt with friendships between males of various ages (
All The Real Girls,
Prince Avalanche,
George Washington &
Pineapple Express) or the bond between brothers (
Undertow &
Your Highness)...
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Joe |
 |
| Prince Avalanche |
 |
| Pineapple Express |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
RECURRING SHOTS
The cinema of David Gordon Green wouldn't be what it is without these key shots & settings...
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Your Highness |
 |
| Joe |
 |
| Prince Avalanche |
 |
| Stronger |
 |
| Stronger |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Snow Angels |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Prince Avalanche |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Prince Avalanche |
 |
| Snow Angels |
 |
| Undertow |
RECURRING SETTING: THE SOUTH
After a few personal conversations with various friends I came to the realization that north of D.C., the south has a bad reputation thanks in part to us Yankees up north (that's not to say that some southerners don't play in to some of the negative stereotypes, but still...). Over the years I've heard some pretty crazy generalizations about the south by people who have spent none to very little time there outside of Miami which almost doesn't even count. I'm not gonna sit here and try to say that the racism in the south isn't deeply rooted unlike any other place in this world. History clearly proves this. But at the same time, I spent five years living in Virginia (the home of the Confederacy's capital) and the most racist things that have ever happened to me in life so far have taken place in my ultra liberal P.C. hometown of Amherst Massachusetts, Milford Connecticut and New York City. I mean seriously, a lot of my friends question how things are in the south as if places like Boston or Howard Beach don't exist in the north.
Outside of the race issues, there's also the stereotype of southerners being dumb country bumpkins and Green's movies
kind of debunk this to a certain extent. There's a slow simmering poetic ambiance to his movies (specifically his early shorts and his first three features).
Be honest - what cinematic world would you rather visit - the rude & busy world of NYC, the superficial world of L.A., or the relaxed slow moving world of the American south? It's understandable if some of you rational thinkers still picked NYC or L.A., but for those of you who always complain about being broke, anxious and/or depressed due to city life - you might wanna consider embracing the beauty that is southern hospitality.
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Joe |
 |
| Joe |
 |
| Joe |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Undertow |
INFLUENCES & VISUAL SIMILARITIES
David Gordon Green will probably be synonymous with Terrence Malick for the rest of his career (not only was
George Washington considered an homage to Malick, but they also worked together on
Undertow). But if you look a little deeper you'll see that his films have visual similarities to everyone from Takovsky & Dreyer to Charles Burnett & David Cronenberg.
Unlike other filmmakers who deny or don't acknowledge being influenced by obvious sources, David Gordon Green is always open about his love for Terrence Malick. On the commentary track for the
George Washington DVD, he drops Malick's name numerous times.
And if I may be so bold to say, I feel like the post-2005 Terrence Malick was influenced by
his unofficial "pupil" (Green) post-
George Washington. I know that by saying Malick was influenced by David Gordon Green really means that Malick was actually just influenced by himself, but ever since he produced
Undertow, he got the courage to go even deeper in to his own style. From
The New World to
Tree Of Life to To
The Wonder, Malick's work has become more daring & experimental.
 |
| The Thin Red Line / George Washington |
 |
| Killer Of Sheep / George Washington |
 |
| Buffalo 66 / All The Real Girls |
 |
| eXistenZ / Pineapple Express |
 |
| Blowout / Vice Principals |
 |
| Taxi Driver / Vice Principals |
 |
| Do The Right Thing/ Vice Principals |
 |
| Ordet / Undertow |
STEPPING OUTSIDE OF THE COMFORT ZONE...
With the exception of
Pineapple Express I'm not a fan of Green's recent/post-southern films (with the exception of
Prince Avalanche). But these entries are designed to look at a director's
entire career so here you go...
 |
| Our Brand Is Crisis |
 |
| The Sitter |
 |
| Your Highness |
 |
| Pineapple Express |
 |
| Manglehorn |
UNEXPECTED MOMENTS OF VIOLENCE
Green's cinematic universe is often tame & meditative then out of nowhere he surprises us with an explosive bar fight (Joe), a gunshot blast (Snow Angels), a murder/accidental death (George Washington & Undertow), or, most recently, a literal explosion (Stronger)...
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| a random fight breaks out in Joe |
 |
| the Boston bombing in Stronger |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Snow Angels |
 |
| Pineapple Express |
FAMILY/FAMILY TENSION
From dead parents & custody battles to unresolved sibling rivalry, the families in Green's films could use some therapy as far as I'm concerned...
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Snow Angels |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Your Highness |
YOUNG PEOPLE/CHILDREN
Green's films are quietly energetic mostly in part to his young actors...
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Physical Pinball |
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| Undertow |
 |
| Manglehorn |
 |
| Snow Angels |
 |
| Pineapple Express |
 |
| The Sitter |
YOUNG LOVE
Young love is awkward. It fills you up with that fun kind of anxiety that you hate & love at the same time. You can't fully be yourself and you say the most random things. There are some moments in
All The Real Girls that seem a bit forced. Random lines like;
I had a dream that you grew a garden on a trampoline, and I was so happy that I invented peanut butter or moments between Schneider & Deschanel where they stammer & stutter nervously in each other's presence but when you think about it we've all said random & embarrassing things or have been nervous & anxious around someone we're in love with or have feelings for.
 |
| All The Real Girls |
 |
| George Washington |
 |
| Snow Angels |
 |
| Undertow |
