Bright Leaves

I want to start off by saying that I truly enjoyed this documentary, but maybe not for the intended reasons. It is one of the more accurate depictions of "stream of consciousness" I have seen lately. And that is probably its greatest strength and weakness. I say weakness because I do not believe that type of...delivery was Ross McElwee's intention. I'm going to break my review, for lack of a better word, into sections.
NARRATION/PERSONA- The sound and inflection of Ross McElwee's voice has to be an acquired taste. But to the virgin viewer it was annoying and riddled with pretentious remarks. Every line is said with dire consequence and breathless anguish. I remember thinking, "He must weigh 3 tons he's so full of himself." There is an blatant attempt to sound intellectual and deep, or at least impress those who are perceived as intellectual(and deep). However, due to the obviousness of his attempts Ross comes off as bothersome and obnoxious. Like the over-enthused freshman on that first day of college Ross cannot see how transparent he is making himself, "Look Professor! See how smart I am? I'm advanced and deep, you will benefit from what I have to say..."
CONTENT- As someone who writes, I feel that I sometimes become scattered with thoughts and ideas. The process of taking what is in my head, and scrawling it on paper is often tiring and clumsy. But I hold no candle to Ross McElwee. His documentary has roughly 15-20 individual stories, which are barely, BARELY tied together. The film starts off with Ross missing the south, then a reconnecting with his family, then an obsession with the (false)biographical information of an old film, then an obsession with tobacco, then questioning the impact of tobacco...I could keep going, but my point is made. The scattered and sometimes odd tangents are what makes this movie "stream of consciousness". That all being said each little story is AMAZINGLY entertaining! I want Ross to break each one down/apart and make them their own documentary. A mini-series maybe. One about his son and the urge to connect. One about tobacco farmers and their thoughts on the harmful plant. ect.
Again, I am very happy I watched this(with one of the best class/groups on the planet). The movie, for me at least, represents one of the many paths writer's/filmmakers can take in the art of refining their craft. Ross McElwee has attempted to string together the fragments and stories of his mind, and the end result speaks volumes on Ross himself, and little about the world he obsessively films.
~Zac