Gerry (film)
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{{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]]
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