An impact of the loss of a close one.
If you think it is some B movie, which is overrated, I would say your assumption is totally wrong. I did not know anything about this film either, I thought it was a Christian Bale movie, that's who I saw in the poster, but later I came to know it was a different guy. My thought on this changed after watching it, it is really a beautiful drama-music. One of the best films of the 2014 that I would have missed it if I had listened to the lies of the critics. So be careful while choosing such movies, because critics are not always right.
I believe you all had seen enough films based on the school shootings like 'Elephant'. This is a similar kind, except there's no violence in it, I mean the shootout was not shown, but a drama about its consequences, especially in the perspective of the parents. This tale focused on a father whose son had been killed in a such unfortunate event. How it affects his life was narrated wonderfully with some awesome music tracks. A father's mourning and his uncertain future to the self-discovery.
This is Willian H. Macy's directional debut film and he pulled it off quite superbly. Sadly, nobody talks about it in the line of other great films of the year, because it deserves an equal respect and praise. I am not the only one, there are others too who liked it a lot. A simple story and the perfect character exhibitions with the pleasing musics, all these worked in its favour. Supporting roles are enough, Billy Crudup should do more lead roles. After seeing his impressive performance in this I am confident that he can find his own place in the industry. And so Willian H. Macy, I'm looking forward for his future projects.
"There are 14 people in the audience and 10 of them are performers."
It was not inspired by the real story, except the school shootings, but the film incredibly told what happens after such incidents. The best part was balancing the emotions in the storytelling. After watching it in the first 10 minutes, I expected, in fact anybody expects it to be a tearjerker film, but it was not, even though I loved watching the rest of the film. And the twist was very casual which was not meant for the story or the characters, but for the viewers that related to the school shooting that we never saw. So there is a less possibility for us to expect it coming, but it also that brings a better conclusion to the heartwarming tale.
It was like someone's real life, yet not easy to predict the scenes. Cinematically it accomplished its quest to be a good film. Selena Gomez was in a guest role, but for a star like her it was unnecessary to play a small part, especially in a serious theme like this. Because unexpected anticipation grows in us and in the end that might lead to a disappointment, especially for her fans. That is not for her alone, but any other big stars, because it is not a comedy or a superhero film when they appear on the screen, the audience to go crazy. A character with the dialogues means something big, but anyway, she was bad at all.
It wasn't as good performance as Anton Yelchin's previous film '5 to 7' that I saw early this year, but yeah definitely a decent supporting character along with Laurence Fishburne's. Don't mistake it, it was not a powerful drama about grieving alone, but in its small specific expanse it reached what it wanted to tell the audience so perfectly. So, there are some fun parts as well in it in a small quantity. But overall, a film that fulfills its promise. By now you might know that I strongly recommend it, especially if anyone who had ever lost their loved ones, they will feel it in their heart more than others do.
9/10
