Imaginary Heroes

Überzeugende Schauspielleistungen, ein nettes, gewöhnliches Drehbuch, das aus vielen kleineren und zusammenhängenden Episoden besteht, eine gute Musik und eine dramatisch-komödiantische Stimmung, die einen nicht vor Lachen, aber zum Glück auch nicht vor Rührung zum Weinen bringt. Das alles ist Imaginary Heroes. Es ist nur schade, dass das Ende langwierig ist. (06.01.2012)

Unordinary stories of ordinary people are always what grabs my attention the most. At the beginning, I saw this movie as a dramatic story of another American family that doesn’t really have it all together. But I must admit that the characters really grew on me after a while. Especially the dad portrayed by Jeff Daniels who is amazing at everything he does. But Michelle Williams, Emile Hirsch and Sigourney Weaver weren’t falling behind, either. When I think about it, I have to say that the all-star cast of this movie really did the trick. I had a connection with them and in the end, I’m rating this movie so high because of them. (26.04.2014)

American movies and especially series often try to convince me that life is incredibly happy and that problems barely exist, and if they do occur, an infinite amount of love and the friendships around us easily solve them. Adversely, this film piles up too many problems on its characters, so they are not just ordinary heroes, but instead are very unlucky and have many problems. Family suicide, marital infidelity including an illegitimate child, drug experimentation, serious illness, difficulties with sexual identity, mid-life crises... the list could go on. Each of these problems deserves its own film, and here they are piling up on the participants all at once. I didn't fully understand some of their emotional states and events. Because of this thematic fragmentation and garishness, I won't give it more than 3 stars, even though the film is decently crafted and features excellent performances. Sigourney Weaver is absolutely convincing in the role of the mother, as she is one of the best actresses of her generation. Imaginary Heroes is an intimate psychological drama filmed without unnecessary pathos, sentimentality, and cheap gestures. Overall impression: 65%. (10.03.2011)