Gerry (film) 210316 223174964 2008-07-02T22:10:20Z DoubleCross 49709 adding category {{Cleanup|date=June 2007}} {{Infobox_Film | name = Gerry | image = Gerry Poster.jpg | writer = [[Casey Affleck]]<br />[[Matt Damon]]<br />[[Gus Van Sant]] | starring = [[Matt Damon]]<br />[[Casey Affleck]] | director = [[Gus Van Sant]] | producer = [[Dany Wolf]] | distributor = [[Independent Films (distributor)|Independent Films]]<br />[[ThinkFilm Inc.]] | music = | released = [[14 February]] [[2003]] | runtime = 103 min. | language = English | budget = $3,500,000 (estimated) | music = [[Arvo Pärt]] | amg_id = 1:260308 | imdb_id = 0302674 }} '''''Gerry''''' is a [[2002]] film directed by [[Gus Van Sant]], written by and starring [[Matt Damon]] and [[Casey Affleck]]. It was shot in a semi-improvised style with a small crew in Argentina, Death Valley, and the Utah Salt Flats, and is dedicated to the memory of [[Ken Kesey]]. ==Plot== ''Gerry'' is about two driving companions, both called Gerry. "Gerry", a slang term used by Matt Damon and Ben and Casey Affleck meaning "screw up," <ref name="bos">[http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/movies/film/documents/02720644.htm Gerry meandering]</ref> is used several times in the film as a verb or adjective in addition to being used as a proper noun. Van Sant revealed in interviews that Damon and Affleck used the term before the movie had even been named.<ref name="bos"/> The characters are apparently on a hike to view a "thing" at the end of a wilderness trail, but after some walking, talking, and a short foot race they agree on their mutual disinterest in the site and decide to turn around. They soon realize that they are lost in the [[desert]]. After several days of wandering around mostly in silence, both protagonists collapse due to [[Fatigue (medical)|fatigue]] and [[dehydration]]. The weaker of the two (Affleck) proclaims that he is "''leaving.''" Whereupon, Damon struggles on top of Affleck, dispassionately [[strangle|strangling]] him. After some time, he's awakened by the sound of an engine and rises to his feet. [[Walking]] only a few hundred yards or so, he discovers a busy [[highway]] on the [[horizon]]. Gerry catches a ride with a family, whom he watches in awkward silence. The plot of the film closely resembles the events surrounding the death of [[David Coughlin]], who was killed by his friend [[Raffi Kodikian]] after the two got lost in Rattlesnake Canyon in New Mexico. It also bears a resemblance to the confirmed true [[Darwin Award]] story called "Dry Spell" where a man on a survival hike died of dehydration only a half mile from his truck<ref>[http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1994-05.html 1993 Darwin Awards: Dry Spell]</ref> It is the first film of Van Sant's "Death Trilogy", three films based on true-life murders. ==Further reading== * [[Narrativity]] - in contrast to the approach adopted for this film. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{imdb title|id=0302674|title=Gerry}} *http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/260308/Gerry/overview New York Times review {{Gus Van Sant's films}} [[Category:2002 films]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:Avant-garde and experimental films]] [[Category:Drama films]] [[Category:Films directed by Gus Van Sant]] [[Category:Films shot anamorphically]] [[Category:Argentine films]] [[de:Gerry (Film)]] [[fr:Gerry (film, 2002)]] [[it:Gerry]] [[ru:Джерри (фильм)]]