Kieran Culkin astounds in "Igby goes down". While the supporting cast (Jeff Goldblum, Susan Sarandon, Ryan Phillipe and Claire Danes) are predictably good, he turns in an electrifying performance. The script is simply superb and the backdrop of New York is wonderful. The master stroke is the use of Rory Culkin as a younger Igby which lends an authentic air of continuity. The only disappointment is Amanda Peet who, as usual, overacts and hams it up as the highly-strung on/off girlfriend. Jeff Goldblum is surprisingly sexy in a role which he seems very comfortable with while Bill Pullman is surprisingly weighty in a minor yet key role which he pulls off extremely well.
Igby Goes Down is a personal tale about a 17 year old misfit boy who copes with his mother's cancer and his father's insanity by pursuing relationships with
older women. Truly an intellectual, Igby is a modern day Holden Caulfield, and the world he lives in is far removed from the high standards of expectation he holds for it.
