In Portland, Oregon, John (Phoenix) drinks very heavily, partying with his friends. One night out with new pal Dexter (Black), he ends up paralysed, quadriplegic with only partial use of his arms. So he's certainly not going to give up drinking now. But when he meets the charming Annu (Mara) and starts drawing cartoons, he also starts to get sober with the help of Donny (Hill) and a group of misfit 12-step addicts. This is going to require John to get over his self-pity and confront himself in ways he really doesn't want to.

Van Sant tells this story out of sequence, sliding back and forth in the timeline from Callahan's childhood to his later life, linking events visually and thematically. This is sometimes challenging for the viewer, but it results in a strongly involving story that undercuts the usual dramatic beats of this kind of movie. There's never a moment in which the film wallows either in his injury or his alcoholism, although both are dealt with in profound ways.

Phoenix plays John as a smart, gifted man who only slowly begins to understand that he may have something to say through his cartoon panels, which gain interest locally before moving to national outlets. The sometimes shocking, cleverly subversive nature of the comics is reflected in Phoenix's performance as a man who has no time for sentimentality. Hill gives the other stand-out turn, playing against type as a wealthy gay blond hippie who is flat-out hilarious, and also surprisingly insightful.

The film's abrasive tone echoes Callahan's sense of humour, and the pacing matches the way he speeds recklessly through town in his wheelchair. In a variety of relationships - with Annu and Donny, his personal assistant (Greenhand), the group members - the story speaks to issues of acceptance and regret. While the biggest kick involves the power of forgiveness. Throughout, Van Sant skilfully threads animated versions of Callahan's cartoons to make sure that it's the real man's voice we are hearing.

themes, language, sexuality

3.Oct.18