Guided to "Prince Avalanche"

Prince Avalanche

by John Andrews

You probably never put much thought into the yellow lines painted down the middle of most every road in America. You probably have never thought about how that job used to be done by hand before big machines came along. But I would bet that you can imagine how boring it would be to push a wheelbarrow for miles every day painting yellow lines and hammering reflector poles into the ground.

Don't be put off by this description of a 94 minute film. Sure, the job may be tedious and tiresome, but David Gordon Green's film Prince Avalanche is all but that. Set in a burnt out wilderness in Texas, two men, Alvin (Paul Rudd), and Lance (Emile Hirsch), brother of Alvin's girlfriend Madison, are out to repaint the road lines that burnt away after a ravaging wildfire. Prince Avalanche is a stunning film full of intricate camera shots sweeping across a landscape beauty infused with destruction. It is a character study of the two leads' conflict and life problems, sprinkled with comedy.

In 1988, Texas was devastated by wildfires. Alvin, to get out of the city and back into nature, walks around daily, camping nightly, to repaint the lines lost. He hired Lance to accompany him for the summer. From the start we see why each of them have taken the job: Alvin to get away before moving to Germany with Madison and Lance to make money to spend back in the city. Alvin is a do-it-yourself kind of guy whereas Lance is the opposite. The two couldn't be more different.

Alvin and Lance are going through the mundane tasks of their road work, working for the weekend. Lance is eager to hook up with a girl back in the city while Alvin can't wait for the alone time away from his very chatty coworker. Once Lance is gone, Alvin sets up camp and goes off on his own through the burnt houses and forest. He stumbles upon an old woman shuffling through the rubble and remains of her house, searching for her pilot's log book. As you would think, Alvin presses her on why she is looking for a paper book in a burned down house. His quirkiness is comedic yet real and believable.

The next scene Alvin walks into another torched house yet he acts out a scenario in his mind. He walks in and yells out, “Honey, I'm home,” and goes through the motions of checking on dinner and walking in on his wife on the phone. The sense of desperation in Alvin's scenario walks a line of mental instability. Alvin has been in the woods for a while, and to the audience, his sanity is slightly in question already.

Lance gets back from the city bitter and bummed. After some coaxing from Alvin, Lance finally sits down and talks about his weekend while sitting against a tree amongst fallen and burnt wood. Like a child, he complains about a flat tire, not getting to party on Friday night, and falling asleep standing up the entire night. Then he hands Alvin a letter from Madison and wanders off. Lance comes back to find Alvin gone. He reads Alvin's letter and realizes what is going on and ventures off to find him.

Prince Avalanche is a quirky story about two strange men who haven't really been able to find their place in the world. Though they chose to paint road lines all summer, they seem almost exiled out into the wild. Every time they go back into the city world, they come out hurt and farther from contentness. On the other hand, the road work seems to weigh down on them and hold them back from something. What that something is, I am not sure. Greatness? Happiness? Solitude? The confines of life burden Alvin and Lance with unbearable charge.

The cinematography is beautiful. Director of photography, Tim Orr, captured a pureness and rawness in the fire ruined forest. As we delve into the world of road workers in the 1980s amidst a blossoming wilderness, caterpillars trek along a twig; yellow paint seeps into a nearby stream; ants bustle rapidly to a days work; a turtle meanders amongst muddy waters.

The tranquility of nature juxtaposed with the lunacy of Alvin and Lance's relationship provides for a delightful film.

Director: David Gordon Green

Writer: David Gordon Green

Actors: Emile Hirsch, Paul Rudd, Joyce Payne, Lance LeGault

Producer: Lisa Muskat, Craig Zobel, James Belfer, David Gordon Green

Run Time: 94 minutes