  Ive been writing about music a lot lately, so I wanted to reprint this e-mail I wrote BT back in March about All the Real Girls, one of my favorite films of 2003 so far: "On one hand, I found All the Real Girls to be somewhat uneven.
The older characters -- Leland and Elvira -- seem underdeveloped, more like sketches. And though I appreciate Green's impulse toward a loose, documentary style of filmmaking, I think his films could benefit from more judicious editing. There's an early scene with Feng-Shui on Leland's shoulders as they walk silently through a field -- the cut to the scene is oddly abrupt, and the camera lingers on them for way too long. These moments add up. On the other hand, the movie had a profound impact on me, like almost nothing else I've seen. I dwelled on it all last week, writing about it several times in my journal, and coming to new understandings each time.
And I saw it again the other day. I'm still thinking about it. I think it affected me so strongly because it worked on two levels. As a movie fan, I absolutely love anything that's naturalistic and episodic. I smiled at scenes like the conversation between Noel and Bust-Ass about food expanding in the stomach -- it's such a goofy dialogue, but so right on with its small-talk awkwardness.
And, as Green says, moments like these are nothing that a "witty screenwriter" could've come up with, or else it'd feel contrived. (He says this, in NewCity, about Noel whispering "hellohellohello" in Paul's ear -- Zooey did it spontaneously. ) So I can champion the film in a "more movies like this, please! " way. But it also emotionally devastated me, which I think has to do with the psychological complexity of the characters. You can see how genuinely Paul and Noel love each other, how well they get along -- but they are in totally different places in their lives, and they can't understand how significantly that affects their relationship. The tragedy of their story is that they are the "best boy and girl for each other" at that moment, and that they do still have feelings for each other, despite everything that happens.
Where these two levels come together is in remarkable scenes like the motel room -- from the tension-diffusing pillow fight to Noel's soul-baring story about her scar. If that's not among the most remarkable performances I've seen from an actress, I don't know what is -- in ten minutes, she goes from nervousness (about being there) to playfulness (the pillow fight) to pain (the scar story) and then joyful love (at being able to share it with Paul). She cries and laughs at the same time. She expresses volumes with just the way her mouth moves.
She says lines like, "Tip doesn't even know about this" in an off-handed way, as if she just thought to bring it up. Now, I'll admit to finding parts of the film uniquely resonant because a) their relationship bears similarities to relationships I've had, and so certain scenes were more poignant than they otherwise might be, and b) Noel is totally my kinda gal (particularly since Zooey is so beautiful), and so I felt like I loved her, too. In other words, there's surely a subjective component to my feelings about the movie. Just so you know.
But I can defend it all, too. As for the [meaning of the] title, I think I've cheated by having read almost every single interview or article about David Gordon Green available online in the last week. Although I guess the only comment I found from Green himself was that it originated as the title of a song that a friend of his wrote -- he didn't say any more than that.
The suggestion I actually like best -- I don't remember where I read it -- is that it's a dedication: (To) All the Real Girls. Especially when you consider that Green and Schneider co-wrote this film, inspired by their own past relationships and aiming to present a "real" image of young love for once. To all the real girls who inspired this movie.
" 
