Sam Mendes: Ranking His Films - From Worst To Best
6. Away We Go
Written by the masterful writer Dave Eggers and his wife (Vendela Vida), Away We Go finds Mendes tackling a rom-com/dramedy for the first time, and it makes for a delightful film which would rank higher on this list if the last 50 minutes matched the first 45. Starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph (a likeable couple if ever there was one), Away We Go sees the pair travel across the States to look for the ideal home to raise their soon-to-be child. Along the way, they meet all the staple characters of the road trip film, with kooky parents, unhappy other couples, and irresponsible best friends all turning up for a scene or two. The film works best in its first two acts, setting up Krasinski and Rudolph as a thirty-something couple genuinely in love with each other and refreshingly free of the forced dramatic arcs which so often render love in the movies as unbelievable. Once the initial fun of the road trip is over and the film settles into the more will-they-wont-they territory, it definitely starts to wane, however, and while never becoming overly sentimental, Away We Go does drift towards it, ensuring that it never feels quite as thematically rich as the best of Mendes work. Overall, its a funny, quite touching, ultimately sweet affair, one which boasts the best soundtrack on this list (an acoustic selection from Dylan, Harrison, Reed et al.) but finally stands as minor Mendes in light of his more dramatic work.
