Movie Review: 'Kodachrome'

Kodachrome is a wonderful surprise. This story about a father and son finding a place of understanding debuted on Netflix on April 26, amidst the hype and hoopla of the theatrical release of Avengers Infinity War, and is a welcome bit of counter-programming. That said, even in this lovely father and son story centering on Jason Sudeikis and Ed Harris we can’t completely escape the Marvel Universe; Elizabeth "Scarlett Witch" Olson also co-stars.

Kodachrome stars Jason Sudeikis as Matt Ryder, a struggling record executive who has lived in the shadow of his famous father for years. Ben Asher Ryder is known all over the world for his award-winning photography. He is known by his son as the cheating bastard husband who left his dying wife to travel the globe. Needless to say, the bitterness on Matt’s part is rather justified.

Just as Matt finds himself about to lose his job after losing a top client he receives a visit from Zoe (Olson), the nurse working for his father. Ben is dying and he doesn’t have much time left. Zoe asks Matt if he will travel with his father on a road trip with a unique goal. Naturally, Matt is reluctant but when Ben’s business manager (Dennis Haysbert) offers to help Matt land a major musical act as a client, he reluctantly agrees.

Matt will join Ben and Zoe on a trip to Parsons, Kansas where the last Kodak facility in the country will be going out of business in five days. Ben has four cans of the legendary Kodachrome film that can only be developed in Parsons, the last place in the country with the capability. If you don’t already know what is on those rolls of film you aren’t trying very hard. Thankfully, the movie Kodachrome is far more than the sum of its relatively familiar parts.

Kodachrome takes its premise, though not its characters, from a 2010 article in the New York Times by writer and photographer A.G Sulzberger. Sulzberger wrote a lovely eulogy for Kodachrome film, the very first color film which was retired from use in 2010. Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas was the last business in the country to print Kodachrome film and became for a short time a mecca for lovers of the very first color film technology.

The real-life Dwayne’s Photo plays a pivotal role in the ending of Kodachrome but I will leave you to discover that as you give yourself over to this wonderfully told story. Director Mark Raso and screenwriter Jonathan Tropper have crafted a thoughtful, biting, and yet beautiful story. The characters of Kodachrome are so real and their pain so raw, you can’t help but get caught up and find yourself taking sides.

Jason Sudeikis has struggled to find himself since leaving Saturday Night Live. He’s had his ups and downs in comedy with the Horrible Bosses franchise as the highlight and a few choice indies like Colossal as his best work. Sudeikis’ foray into drama, however, was a true low point. Race, the story of Jesse Owens’ legendary run at the Munich Olympics, was a complete flop with Sudeikis coming off like a parody of a character in a serious drama.

Here, however, Sudeikis is phenomenal. The pain in Sudeikis’s performance is palpable and his acidic asides to Harris as his father have a remarkable impact. Matt is not a perfect character and Sudeikis smartly plays both Matt’s relatable qualities and his self-defeating flaws. Matt is clearly the sympathetic figure here but Sudeikis never takes the easy way out and doesn’t merely rely on the story to carry the weight of his performance.

Ed Harris continues to get better as he ages. Harris flawlessly embodies a man who lived his own legend. Watch Harris’s eyes throughout Kodachrome and the remarkable ways he lets fear slowly creep into his performance as Ben nears the end of his life. A scene late the film in which Ben and Matt have an important, emotional moment is one we’ve seen in a number of other movies but not nearly as affecting as it is here with Harris at the top of his game.

I’ve not mentioned much about Elizabeth Olson but that’s not to indicate she isn’t also quite good here. Sadly, Olson’s Zoe is the most underwritten of the three lead roles. Olson nevertheless finds her moments and picks her spots to step forward and nail a big emotion. The relationship between Zoe and Ben might have come off as a perfunctory addition to a familiar story but I loved the way Olson and Sudeikis play it, they elevate the relationship well beyond the confines of the familiar.

Kodachrome is the most welcome surprise of 2018. This is a smart, funny, and heart-rending familial drama with strong writing and direction and especially strong acting from a brilliant trio of leads. Netflix deserves kudos for making a movie like this possible though, I will still lament the fact that both Sudeikis and Harris will likely not be part of any Awards talk simply because the film is on Netflix and not in theaters.