This is a very tough movie. Tough characters, tough subject matter, tough to watch. I mean this in a good way. These people are very real with real problems and real attitudes. There is a raw nakedness about the film that makes it somehow tangible and sometimes uncomfortable. The scenes are not painted nor rendered
rather they are captured as they are?and they are not very pretty (save for some of the landscape). The cast are not a group of models (though the youngest boy is about as cute and wonderful an actor as they come). This movie will hit you as ?real.? The viewer is presented with a family; Husband, Wife, Daughter, Son. The Daughter appears to be the focal character, but as pivotal as she is each character is given ample time and thought. The problems that they deal with are very real. I don?t think this will be a spoiler to anyone, but in case you think it might be skip to the next paragraph. Be prepared to deal with a family on the brink of destruction, infidelity, addiction, purposelessness, coming unto teenage sexuality, and all of this combined to amount to tragedy. This film is a tragic drama that may leave you squirming a bit. I recommend this film to those who are comfortable looking at some of the more difficult things in life or who have experienced some of the same and wish to see an accurate portrayal?a film that empathizes with the pain that real life can bring.
July 17, 2007
Top Critic
