BBBB
(out of 5)
Two siblings, long estranged from their parents, are reunited when their aging father (Philip Bosco) is left to deal with his dementia alone after his girlfriend dies. It couldn’t come at a more inconvenient time as drama professor Philip Seymour Hoffman is working on his book on Bertold Brecht and office temp Laura Linney is trying to rise above her situation and get her playwriting career going. This emotionally difficult but deeply felt look at complicated family dynamics is never flashy or overly intense; its subtle intelligence and quiet beauty make it simultaneously challenging and rewarding. Hoffman and Linney shine, while Bosco really jumps off the screen as a man who is having difficulty holding on to the reality of his life.
Fox Searchlight Pictures, Lone Star Film Group, This Is That Productions, Ad Hominem Enterprises, Cooper’s Town Productions, Savage Productions
USA, 2007
Directed by Tamara Jenkins
Screenplay by Tamara Jenkins
Cinematography by W. Mott Hupfel III
Produced by Anne Carey, Ted Hope, Eric Westheimer
Music by Stephen Trask
Production Design by Jane Ann Stewart
Costume Design by David C. Robinson
Film Editing by Brian A. Kates
Toronto International Film Festival 2007
