Being Flynn (2012)
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 74
Fresh: 39 | Rotten: 35
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 16
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 3,352
My Rating
Movie Info
Writer-director Paul Weitz turns his hand to this moving portrait of fathers and sons. Based on a true story, Being Flynn follows Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) who is shocked to have his eccentric and long-absent father, Jonathan (Robert De Niro) reach out to him unexpectedly. Still feeling the loss of his mother (played in flashbacks by Julianne Moore) in the midst of starting a new relationship with Denise (Olivia Thirlby), the last person Nick wants to see is his father. But you can't outrun fate
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Cast
-
Robert De Niro
Jonathan, Jonathan Flyn... -
Paul Dano
Nick, Nick Flynn -
Julianne Moore
Jody, Jody Flynn -
Olivia Thirlby
Denise -
Eddie Rouse Jr.
Carlos -
Steve Cirbus
Jeff -
Lili Taylor
Joy -
Victor Rasuk
Gabriel -
Liam Broggy
Young Nick -
Chris Chalk
Ivan -
Wes Studi
Captain -
Thomas Middleditch
Richard -
Sarah Quinn
Religious Girl -
Benjamin Foronda
Punky -
Dale Dickey
Male, Marie -
Joshua Alscher
Crack Smoker -
Dawn McGee
Waitress -
Billy Wirth
Travis -
Michael Gibson
Sergeant Bob -
Kelly J. McCreary
Inez -
Deirdre O'Connell
Frowzy Woman -
Katherine Waterston
Sarah -
Robert Andrews (II)
Homeless Man 1 -
Michael Genadry
Young Counselor -
Kelli Crump
Desk Clerk -
Dara Tomanovich
Beautiful Woman -
Jane Lee
Laura -
Evan Wadle
Young Guy -
Victor Pagan
Beady-Eyed Bill -
Rony Clanton
Skid -
Michael Buscemi
Dennis -
Lorenzo Murphy
Morphine Addict -
William Sadler
Ray -
Joseph Prioleau
George -
Lee Stringer
Homeless Man in Line -
John O'Brien
Airline Pilot -
Joey Boots
NA Guy -
Luis Moco
Punk Rocker -
Marilyn Torres
Little Girl's Mother -
Stephen Williams
Counselor -
Roy Milton Davis
Homeless Man 2 -
Rufino Colon
Shelter Guest 1 -
Jeff Ware
Jerry -
Samira Wiley
Asha -
Stuart Rudin
Moses -
Gabriel Millman
Housing Counselor -
Thomas Hoffman
Barlow -
Joyce Myricks
Nurse/Counselor -
Dwight Folsom
Isaac Clegg -
Carlton Bembry
Counselor 2 -
George Asatrian
Beating Teen 1 -
Anthony Piccolo
Beating Teen 2 -
Kevin Keels
Banker at Party
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Being Flynn Trailer & Photos
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (35) | DVD (1)
It's been ages since De Niro tackled a character as rich and challenging as this, and he tackles it head-on.
Top CriticWeitz digs diligently for emotional truths and makes the most of his excellent cast.
I'm happy to report that De Niro hasn't lost his chops. At least not quite.
Heads downward in every sense of the word.
For a movie that deals with suicide, homelessness and cocaine addiction, writer-director Paul Weitz's latest family drama feels strangely bland.
What's so satisfying about Weitz films like this one is how his lost boys and lost adults find themselves in the awkward dance of intimacy.
Being Flynn is a revealing and true film with a universal message, but the lack of bonus material makes the Blu-Ray a rental at best.
Being Flynn is too dark to appeal to the faint of heart and too safe to draw in those looking for an honest portrayal of a troubled father-son relationship.
It's a shame the studio didn't choose to keep the original title of the book in place, Another Bulls**t Night in Suck City would have been quite fitting for the film.
Eventually, the movie warps in on itself and becomes its own parody: an overly pretentious movie about an overly pretentious writer, which is not very well written at all.
Absolves Paul Weitz for having made Little Fockers and makes up for most of Robert De Niro's choices in the past few years.
Paul Weitz's gritty, sweet but mostly unsentimental film of Flynn's book puts a flawed, unpleasantly realistic face on homelessness and gives Robert De Niro his best role in a decade.
On the whole, the film feels detached and morose, just like its characters.
De Niro's Jonathan wraps himself up in the façade of his fictitious artistry. He's Jake La Motta by way of Blanche DuBois, who can only occasionally depend upon the kindness of strangers.
De Niro's blustering doesn't help and neither does the sentimental take on his possibly insoluble problems.
It's simply difficult to throw in with the film's reality-if not its essential story, then its details: Being Flynn feels indie art-directed instead of observed.
To his credit, De Niro actually gives a committed performance for a change. But that doesn't mean what it once did.
...a perfectly watchable adaptation of Flynn's true-life memoir.
Never underestimate the dramatic power of father-son bonding
He might be guilty of showboating, but De Niro's knockout performance is a declaration that the star of "Raging Bull" isn't ready to hang up his gloves.
The revelation, truly, is De Niro. It's been ages since he's dived fully and credibly into a dramatic character and lived inside its skin as he used to do routinely.
It's a complex emotional soup, taken from a 2004 book by poet Nick Flynn, and one that demands much from all involved.
Audience Reviews for Being Flynn
Super Reviewer
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- Jonathan: One writer to another. I don't care how good a writer you are, you can't kill someone with words.
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- Jonathan Flynn: Life is gathering material.
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- Jonathan Flynn: Of course, writers, especially poets, are particularly prone to madness.
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- Jonathan Flynn: I'm Jonathan Flynn. Everything I write is a masterpiece.
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Foreign Titles
- Monsieur Flynn (FR)
