From first time writer-director Dan Harris comes a melancholy and darkly humorous look at a family recovering from the suicide of their swimming superstar son, Matt (Kip Pardue, THIRTEEN).
The film centers on Matt’s younger brother Tim (Emile Hirsch, LORDS OF DOGTOWN), who looks younger than 17, isn’t an athlete and only really speaks to his mother Sandy (Sigourney Weaver, ALIEN), who is a mother who loves her son dearly, but acts more like a kid than someone’s mother should. Tim’s father, Ben (Jeff Daniels, THE HOURS), pushed Matt hard to be the best. After the suicide, he can barely cope with life, becoming greatly withdrawn and highly insensitive. The Travis family also has a college-aged daughter named Penny (Michelle Williams, TV’s DAWSON’S CREEK), who probably could have been dropped from the screenplay.
Early on the film establishes secrets. Sandy hates her next-door neighbor Marge Dwyer (Deirdre O’Connell, SECONDHAND LIONS). The question is why. Her son, Kyle (Ryan Donowho, A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD), is a delinquent drug-user and Tim’s best friend. Rounding out the main players is Tim’s girlfriend Steph (Suzanne Santo, film debut), who like Penny is a character underdeveloped and probably unneeded.
At 24, Harris has made a solid film debut. The dialogue is very good and Tim and Sandy are wonderfully developed characters. The family dynamic between Sandy, Ben and Tim is natural and original. The film, however, does show signs of inexperience. It’s sometimes too quirky or edgy for its own good. The drag singer at the holiday party took me right out of the film.
It also seems to be a story weighed down a bit with too many ideas. There are characters that probably should have been eliminated or developed more. There’s also too many big revelations at the end. They are thought-provoking and even disturbing, but they only explain things. They are handled too easily — they could have been the start of a totally different film.
Yet, the film still works. The missteps are only places where the film could have achieved more, going from a good film to a great one. The film kept reminding me of ORDINARY PEOPLE, MOONLIGHT MILE and GARDEN STATE. If you liked those films, you may want to check this out as well. It will be interesting to see what Harris does next.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
