Review: Everything Is Illuminated (B+)

Everything Is Illuminated (2006)
Directed by Liev Schreiber
Starring Elijah Wood,
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy

Everything Is Illuminated is based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, and it contains the same quirky wit that the book does. Elijah Wood (Lord Of the Rings) stars as the novelist, a man that likes to catalog his life by collecting objects from the past. He travels to Russia to find the woman who helped his grandfather escape the Nazis.

Wood's character is a bit uptight, and his tour guides are a cranky old man that does not speak English, and Alex, a hip hop break dancer that is a bit of a goofball. Alex takes a liking to Jonathan and they decide to go out of their way to help their new friend. The humor of Everything Is Illuminated often comes in the interactions between the quirky characters and the strange miscommunications that happen between the American and the Russians.

Surprisingly, for an indie film, Everything Is Illuminated has a great look. The acting is stellar and the script is unpredictable and air tight. This is a fantastic indie treat.