James Ponsoldt Movies Ranked
3. Smashed (2012)
A refreshing and appropriately alternative look at the less glamorous side of alcohol, this Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winstead drama about a young married couple whose relationship is founded upon dangerous levels of alcohol consumption was a showcase of its starring actors’ talents, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead being particularly impressive as the wife who looks to sober up only to cause tensions in her relationship.
This was the 2nd film in Ponsoldt’s feature-length directorial career, arriving a full 6 years after the director’s first release Off the Black, and was the filmmaker’s true calling card to more character-focused pieces that worked to accentuate the talents of the actors central to them.
One particular AA meeting monologue from Winstead’s character in Smashed stands out for its moving writing and, perhaps more significantly, as a moment in the actress’s career where she proved her chops for providing truly moving material.
Ponsoldt was getting into a groove that would continue with his next release…
2. The Spectacular Now (2013)
It would be easy to dismiss The Spectacular Now as a typical high school romance movie given how its promotional material made the choice to lean towards the more romance-driven and comedic elements of the film, but to dismiss this release as anything other than a moving drama that proves coming-of-age tales can still be effective in the modern day would be of great disservice to the overall quality of this James Ponsoldt movie.
Much like Off the Black and Smashed, The Spectacular Now is a slow-paced suburban-based character piece, with the central protagonists – played by the emerging talents of Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller – completing journeys that equate to more than the simple beats of falling in love, out of love, and then back into love, that would feature in your typical teen movie, instead using the romance angle to accentuate the film’s presentation of its male protagonist’s much more personal journey into adulthood; one which presents themes as typical as finding a place in the world while still remaining original and insightful, a tough balance to to maintain.
Woodley performs admirably in this film, but the true standout performer is Miles Teller whose portrayal of laugh-it-off damaged is presented as both brave and incredibly vulnerable, marking an important point in Teller’s career where the (at the time) relatively inexperienced actor truly shone under Ponsoldt’s lens, making him one of young Hollywood’s most intriguing talents.
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1. The End of the Tour (2015)
James Ponsoldt’s 2015 offering was a continuation of his character-driven route through cinema, this time presenting the real-life encounter between Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky and famed novelist David Foster Wallace in the aftermath of the author’s ground-breaking publication “Infinite Jest” in 1996.
The End of the Tour was a critical success, but it is perhaps best remembered for an excellent performance by Jason Segel, whose move away from comedy was met with universal praise for his portrayal of the troubled author. It was undoubtedly the performance of his career thus far and acted as further proof as to Ponsoldt’s talents for unearthing career-defining performances from his star performers.
The End of the Tour was also perhaps the best paced movie of Ponsoldt’s slow-moving filmography, and carried a visual artistry that was more prevalent than in his previous work, lifting the piece beyond its well established competition and into the top spot on this list.
If you see any Ponsoldt film in your lifetime, this one should be it.
James Ponsoldt has developed a career out of exploring human nature and providing the perfect circumstances in which actors can perform above and beyond expectations. He’s a filmmaker with an astute intuition for presenting reality and the dramas of every day life as being truly cinematic. Whether the best is yet to come, or has already been, James Ponsoldt remains one of the more talented independent directors working on the scene today.
