ZACHARY HAINES ?13
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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She came to him in a dream?at first not as anything clearly definable, just a voice and a silhouette wreathed in light; then as an auburn-haired girl, sketching on a blanket in the park. Her appearance sends burnt-out literary wunderkind Calvin Weir-Field (Paul Dano of ?There Will Be Blood? and ?Little Miss Sunshine?) into an inspired frenzy, breaking the spell of writer?s block that has plagued him ever since the completion of the acclaimed novel he wrote as a teenager. He spends countless days and nights exhaustively clacking away on his Olympia typewriter, until finally he has the beginnings of a story.
His story follows the tale a girl from Dayton, Ohio (a city Calvin thinks ?sounds romantic?) who was kicked out of high school for having an affair with her math teacher or Spanish teacher or maybe both; her passion is painting; she hates hypocrites and always roots for the underdog; she is ineffably charming and adorably dysfunctional. Calvin calls her Ruby Sparks. His detailed account of her life is an almost desperate attempt to write the girl of his dreams (literally) into being; and then one morning, she is standing there in his kitchen.
Though at first incredulous, Calvin is quick to accept Ruby?s sudden materialization. Ruby is played by the stunning newcomer Zoe Kazan, the film?s author and co-executive producer; fun fact, she is the granddaughter of ?On the Waterfront? and ?A Streetcar Named Desire? director Elia Kazan. Though she is undeniably real, she also comes with a bizarre condition: anything Calvin writes about her comes true. When he and his brother Harry (Chris Messina) write, ?Ruby begins to speak fluent French,? Ruby follows suit, prattling on in French, unfazed. She is entirely unaware of her role in Calvin?s fantasy-turned-reality, ignorant of the fact that he is the author of her every action. Though Harry encourages Calvin to embrace this miracle ?for the good of men everywhere,? Calvin resolves never to write anything about Ruby that might change her. To him, she is already perfect.
Then as all couples do, Calvin and Ruby burn through their passionate honeymoon phase and grow restless and discontent. Ruby actually begins to crave independence from Calvin: she contemplates applying for a job at a coffee shop, taking an art class, and even sleeping at her own apartment a few nights a week. Fearing that she might slip away, Calvin?s grip on Ruby becomes more suffocating and even tyrannical.
As their petty arguments turn into fights about much weightier issues, Calvin decides that the only way to save their relationship is to begin writing again: this time, he dictates Ruby?s every thought and action, throwing his once vivacious and spritely love into a horrendous emotional and psychological imbalance. Ultimately, Calvin is forced to choose between hoarding Ruby for himself, regulating her every miserable, enslaved step; or allowing the girl he loves, who is now much more than just his creation, to drift freely away from him.
Though this story is tinged with the supernatural, anyone who has ever been in love could tell you that Calvin and Ruby?s relationship is anything but extraordinary. The combustive beginning and subsequent ennui are phases that occur in every relationship; the idea is that through the rough patches, we learn how to coexist with the ones we love rather than co-depend. Ruby Sparks? own screenwriter and star Zoe Kazan has actually been dating her co-star Paul Dano for five years now, so she probably understands quite well that in order to make a long-term relationship work there has to be a certain give-and-take, otherwise both partners will begin to resent each other. What ?Ruby Sparks? sets up for us is a situation in which one of the partners has absolutely no choice?in one harrowing scene, we see how the words Calvin types prevent Ruby from even walking out the door, let alone think about leaving him.
Though the events leading up to Calvin and Ruby?s demise are accentuated by fantasy, the story is not entirely dependent on it. ?Ruby Sparks? is not the kind of film that expends all its energy trying to explain why fantastical events have taken place; it creates its own set of rules and expects that our imaginations will follow suit. Therefore, if you?re the kind of viewer who will waste an entire film griping about probability, I?d rather you leave ?Ruby Sparks? off your must-watch list. What I like most about the film is the way it uses otherworldly circumstances to raise questions about human nature. It asks us: what would you do if you had all the power? Calvin is the kind of character who, given power, will exert his oppressive will and unattainable expectations over others; and in any other film?one without a magical typewriter?I believe he would have been the same. Though Ruby is presented as a product of some miracle of fiction, in another film she would still have been the kind of person who is willing to weather a thousand abuses before finally summoning up the wherewithal to break free.
?Ruby Sparks? is the sophomore effort from acclaimed directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, whose feature-film debut ?Little Miss Sunshine? (2006) was nominated for Best Picture at the 79th Annual Academy Awards. They have again taken on a project that, at first glance, seems gratuitously quirky?for those of you who enjoy the doe-eyes-and-bangs shtick ? la Zooey Deschanel (myself included!) you are bound to get your fix. However, Kazan, and the rest of the stunning cast, (including surprise appearances from Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas) has created a world where much darker ideas are shifting beneath the tenor of coffee shop chic, making this film a more interesting and ultimately heart-wrenching watch.
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