Edward Norton does the identical twin routine in Tim Blake Nelson’s comedy about a pair of brothers whose divergent lives reconnect when news of the death of one draws the other back home.

One brother is a pot growing entrepreneur with a crippling lack of smarts and a talent for trouble while the other brother is an Ivy League professor on the verge of a huge promotion and keen to maintain the distance he has travelled from his humble beginnings.

When the learned sibling realises that reports of his brother’s death are not only greatly exaggerated, but are part of a plot to take down a domineering local crime boss, the Slackerdemic double act get to work at rebuilding bridges and sorting their lives out. Which is nowhere near as trite as it sounds. It’s a keenly felt, visually interesting and surprisingly nuanced comedy.

Edward Norton takes on the roles of both brothers while aplomb, though his pot grower from the sticks is at first a little too cornball, but as the film progresses we find both to be layered performances, capable of engaging our emotions and elevating the film. Norton has a habit of allowing the other characters to develop around him, almost fading to the background but this is why he is so magnetic a screen presence.

It’s a fairly standard premise elevated by a great supporting cast with Susan Sarandon’s role as the twins’ mother is soaked in pathos and gin and Richard Dreyfuss’s duplicitous drug baron Pug Rothbaum (a Coenesque name if ever there was one) is a coarse and chilling presence. It’s always great to see Melanie Lynskey on screen and Blake Nelson is virtually unrecognisable in his supporting role and you get the feeling that this film was made as a passion project rather than an attempt to attract a wide audience. Its cast is its greatest asset and its witty script will surprise those expecting a pothead crime caper – it is far deeper, and far more enjoyable than that.

Leaves of Grass is out now on DVD and VOD.

****~ (4/5)

Lions Gate Home Entertainment have been kind enough to give us three copies of their new movie, Leaves of Grass to give away to you, our readers. The movie stars Edwards Norton…. Edward Norton (!) Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss, Keri Russell and Tim Blake Nelson.

Synopsis: Edward Norton stars with… Edward Norton in the comedic thriller, LEAVES OF GRASS, which is out on DVD on 21 February 2011 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Norton plays dual roles in this witty thriller which also boasts an all-star cast including Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss, Keri Russell and Tim Blake Nelson.

Ivy League professor Bill Kincaid’s (Norton) life takes a downward spiral when he returns home to rural Oklahoma after receiving news of his twin brother’s murder in a pot deal gone bad. Upon arrival, he finds that reports of Brady’s (also played by Norton) death are “greatly exaggerated” and is quickly caught up in one of his brother’s schemes. A scheme in which Brady requires an air-tight alibi.

Despite severe doubts, Bill decides to participate in his brother’s plan, choosing to spend his time as “Brady” in the company of his mother, Daisy (Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon) who has retired from the counter-culture and prematurely chosen to move into a retirement home – and Janet (Keri Russell), an educated woman who has by-passed academia in favour of a quieter life.

Meanwhile, Brady and his best friend/business partner Bolger (writer-director Tim Blake Nelson) use this perfect alibi to confront one of the area’s most notorious drug dealers, Pug Rothbaum (Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss), about some unfinished business. Will Bill be prepared to risk everything to help his brother if things don’t go according to plan?

Leaves of Grass is out on DVD on February 21, courtesy of Lions Gate Home Entertainment.

DVD technical details:

• Number of discs: 1
• RRP: £12.99
• Certificate: 15 (UK and Ireland)
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Running time: 101 Minutes Approx.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the DVD, all you have to do is answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, Leaves of Grass?

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 25th February 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Collider have posted an exclusive clip of comedy drama Leaves of Grass, which finds Edward Norton following in the footsteps of both Nicholas Cage and Jeremy Irons by flexing his acting muscles playing twin brothers.

Directed by Tim Blake Nelson (who also has a role in the film) the plot revolves around an Ivy League professor who is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown, where his twin brother (a small-time pot grower) has concocted a scheme to take down a local drug lord.

The film is on a limited cinema release in the US at the moment, before arriving on DVD and Blu-ray on October 12th. A UK cinema date is still to be confirmed but, as always, we’ll keep you updated when we hear anything.

A great new trailer has just been released for Edward Norton latest movie, Leaves of Grass. It’s directed by Tim Blake Nelson and also stars another Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell and Richard Dreyfuss. The movie screened at the Toronto Film Festival and everyone is raving about it with apparently an awesome performance from both sets of Edward Nortons!

It’s scheduled for release in the US 2nd April. Doesn’t look like we have a release date yet but we’ll keep you posted. Check out the trailer embedded below or head over to Apple who debuted the trailer. I’m very much looking forward to this one.

Synopsis: When Ivy League classics professor Bill Kincaid receives news of the murder of his estranged identical twin brother, Brady (both played by two-time Academy Award® nominee Edward Norton), in a pot deal gone bad, he leaves the world of Northeastern academia to travel back to his home state of Oklahoma. Upon arrival, he finds that reports of his brother’s death are greatly exaggerated, and he’s soon caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable world of drug commerce in the backwaters of the Southwest. In the process, he reconnects with his eccentric mother (Academy Award® winner Susan Sarandon), meets a wise and educated young woman who has bypassed academia in favor of the gentler rhythms of life (Keri Russell), and unwittingly helps his troubled brother settle a score with a pernicious drug lord (Academy Award® winner Richard Dreyfuss) who uses Tulsa, Oklahoma’s small Jewish community for cover. Leaves of Grass follows a twisting narrative path merging crime drama, drug comedy, classical philosophy and sudden violence in pursuit of answering one of humanity’s oldest questions: What does it truly mean to live a happy and constructive life?

The new poster for Leaves of Grass, a comedy directed by Tim Blake Nelson, gives us a good look at the the film’s selling point – the dual roles of Edward Norton who plays an Ivy League professor and his small town, drug dealing brother.

If you missed this last year, have a look at the trailer here, the chance to see Richard Dreyfuss as a drug lord going up against Norton and Norton, with support from Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell and Melianie Lynskey is too good to miss.

AICN had the exclusive on this, I’ve placed it below for your viewing pleasure. There’s no UK release date but we’re waiting for this one.

Edward Norton is an actor who is always interesting to watch, and his dual role in Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass looks to be another fine prospect.

Not a Walt Whitman ‘Bright Star’ type biopic, Leaves of Grass sees Norton joined by Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and Melanie Lynskey for this pharmaceutical comedy which sees Norton play twin brothers whose lives took a divergent turn, one who leaves their hometown for the academic heights of the Ivy League and the other who stays behind to deal drugs. The trailer has found its way online and is available below (please note it contains swearing).

Hoisted back to his hometown by some tragic news the brothers reunite to deal with small town drug lords, the fragmentation of the family and a whole lot of green. What seems an Adaptation inspired movie, Leaves of Grass has a great cast and looks to make the most of them.

One to watch.