Lisa Cholodenko directed and co-wrote this movie. I am unfamiliar with her work, which includes directing some TV (The L Word, Six Feet Under) and some movies (Cave Dweller, Laurel Canyon). You can get the rest from IMDB. While I liked the movie, to a certain extent, it is not one of my top five. But then, the Academy has decided to nominate ten films again this year. What I find more interesting is whether the Academy is going to keep this up or not. Not so interested in writing this review. Like I said, not my favorite. So, why?
The acting was great. This means, in some part, the directing had to be good. Annette Bening won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in this type of movie (meaning I can't remember and I'm too lazy to look it up). Her competition included her co-star, Julianne Moore. The ladies were believable. Very. They play a committed couple that has been together for a long, long time, in fact they have two children together, ages 18 (Joni) and 15 (Laser). The young actors, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, were good. Mark Ruffalo played sperm donor Paul. Yes, in the movie is referred to as exactly that. And, Mark is good.
So, the story. Without spoiling too much, the kids contact and meet the sperm donor. What gets to me is how close, in terms of location, he is to them. Does that really happen? After all, based on the license plates, this takes place in California. I'm just thinking about how mobile the USA can be. I've lived in four different states and in 13 different homes over my life. The character Paul was 19 when he donated sperm. What are the odds, 18 or 19 years later, he lives so close that the kids can see him at lunch time, visiting back and forth is not a time and mileage issue? It just seems improbable to me. There, that's off my chest. This may have had a great influence on what I think about the film, as it distracted me the first time I watched it.
Without spoiling this for those of you who actually read this blog and haven't seen the movie, issues arise and are resolved. It was nicely done for most part. I feel there are some unnecessary scenes as well as parts of the story where I wanted more details. And one scene, pivotal to the movie, that felt so manufactured it really, really bothered me. This movie has left me unsatisfied. But I really enjoyed the acting.
Last but not least, how do I rank this film, in comparison to its competition? This year has seen some interesting movies. Of the ten nominated films, I have yet to see Toy Story 3. My bad.
Winter's Bone (not all my friends agree with me). I think The Kids Are All Right comes in after The King's Speech and before Social Network.
Winter's Bone
Inception
The Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
Social Network
True Grit
127 Hours
And those films not nominated:
Never Let Me Go (really, it should have been, instead of True Grit and/or 127 Hours)
RED (Retired, extremely dangerous: Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich.
Ghost Writer
Iron Man II
And also this year, not my favorites, but some I enjoyed quite a bit:
The Expendables (has one wonderful scene that you can't miss!)
Jonah Hex
Knight and Day (hilarious)
9 (or was that last year's film?)
So, one movie left to see. I can't wait for Oscar night, can you?
The acting was great. This means, in some part, the directing had to be good. Annette Bening won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in this type of movie (meaning I can't remember and I'm too lazy to look it up). Her competition included her co-star, Julianne Moore. The ladies were believable. Very. They play a committed couple that has been together for a long, long time, in fact they have two children together, ages 18 (Joni) and 15 (Laser). The young actors, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, were good. Mark Ruffalo played sperm donor Paul. Yes, in the movie is referred to as exactly that. And, Mark is good.
So, the story. Without spoiling too much, the kids contact and meet the sperm donor. What gets to me is how close, in terms of location, he is to them. Does that really happen? After all, based on the license plates, this takes place in California. I'm just thinking about how mobile the USA can be. I've lived in four different states and in 13 different homes over my life. The character Paul was 19 when he donated sperm. What are the odds, 18 or 19 years later, he lives so close that the kids can see him at lunch time, visiting back and forth is not a time and mileage issue? It just seems improbable to me. There, that's off my chest. This may have had a great influence on what I think about the film, as it distracted me the first time I watched it.
Without spoiling this for those of you who actually read this blog and haven't seen the movie, issues arise and are resolved. It was nicely done for most part. I feel there are some unnecessary scenes as well as parts of the story where I wanted more details. And one scene, pivotal to the movie, that felt so manufactured it really, really bothered me. This movie has left me unsatisfied. But I really enjoyed the acting.
Last but not least, how do I rank this film, in comparison to its competition? This year has seen some interesting movies. Of the ten nominated films, I have yet to see Toy Story 3. My bad.
Winter's Bone (not all my friends agree with me). I think The Kids Are All Right comes in after The King's Speech and before Social Network.
Winter's Bone
Inception
The Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
Social Network
True Grit
127 Hours
And those films not nominated:
Never Let Me Go (really, it should have been, instead of True Grit and/or 127 Hours)
RED (Retired, extremely dangerous: Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich.
Ghost Writer
Iron Man II
And also this year, not my favorites, but some I enjoyed quite a bit:
The Expendables (has one wonderful scene that you can't miss!)
Jonah Hex
Knight and Day (hilarious)
9 (or was that last year's film?)
So, one movie left to see. I can't wait for Oscar night, can you?
Yeah, I didn't love this movie. I really like the actors in the leads here (normally), but Annette Bening was a little hard ass over the top for me in this part...but maybe that is just the character I didn't like, not her performance. Would not rank this in the top 10 at all...but I can't say I even have 10 to rank this year. Maybe 3.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this movie and I don't find it implausible that Mark Ruffalo's character hadn't moved in 19 years. Where I live people don't move, period. Ever. At all. Not even off the street they grew up on. I loved Annette Bening and really want her to win the Oscar. Especially over Natalie Portman whom I like but did not care for in Black Swan Club.
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