REVIEW - CRYSTAL FAIRY & THE MAGICAL CACTUS

Sebastian Silva turns his offbeat but disarmingly naturalistic eye to the stoner comedy sub-genre with Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, a slight character piece which, in truth, couldn't be much further from the usual stoner comedy. Don't be duped by the presence of lead Michael Cera - like many comedic performers, the breadth of his ability is of some note, and his subtle but significant transformation into Jamie, a self-centred American bullishly organising a trip to the beach in Chile, marks the finest work of his career to date. The dynamics between the cast members are pitched so perfectly that moments have the feel of (unusually well-lit) documentary, or at least a more successful version of what Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen tried to do last year with This Is the End (which also starred Cera, in a small role). Silva is aided generously by employing his three brothers as Jamie's accompanying parties on his trip, since their innate fraternal bond is apparent throughout and gives an authenticity to their connection within the film. Especially notable is Agustin Silva, who achieves a remarkable degree of naivety in his performance, a degree normally inaccessible to experienced actors, and he is the only brother of the three to have starred in a film before. The group's unexpected, then unwanted, but finally valued female counterpart is the titular Crystal Fairy, played vividly by Gaby Hoffman, a former child star whose career stalled in adulthood, but whose marvellously open, eccentric and frequently nude work here ought to serve to boost her fame once more. Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus is a simple feature in its purpose and in its construction, and unchallenging in its effect. But Silva has done such a deft job with his screenplay and in guiding his actors to such unaffected perfs that said effect is also highly positive.