This movie ends on a very hopeful note. Jonathon (Rebert De Niro) end up living in a subsidized apartment, and Nick (Paul Dano) ends up teaching and being a published author. So, basically, things seem to have worked out as well as you could hope for these two. And when this comes to an end, you are very, very grateful for the hopefulness of the ending because - in all honesty - this is for the most part a rather dark and sometimes depressing story.
It revolves around the relationship between Jonathon and Nick - an estranged father and son who haven't seen each other for 18 years. Both are struggling. Jonathon lives a fantasy about being a classic American author who's written a classic novel - notwithstanding that no one will publish it. He's an alcoholic taxi driver really; and he ends up on the streets after being kicked out of his apartment. There's some play made of him being racist and homophobic, but those characteristics really didn't take centre stage for me. He was just difficult. Nick also fancies himself as a writer, but he's dealing with a lot of demons from his past - the fact that his father was never present in his life, and the fact that his mother (played in flashbacks by Julianne Moore) committed suicide (he thinks because she read an unfinished story about herself that he wrote, before he had a chance to add at the end of it how much he loved her and what a good mother she was.) He drinks, he does drugs, but eventually he lands a job at a homeless shelter, and - much to his surprise - into the shelter one day walks Jonathon. The story goes from there.
While often dark and depressing, this is an interesting enough story, made even more interesting that it's based on Nick Flynn's actual memoirs. Aside from the father-son relationship, one of the most interesting aspects of it is the depiction of life in a homeless shelter. It also features magnificent performances from Dano, and especially from De Niro, who proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's still got it. His portrayal of the troubled Jonathon was superb.
This is dark and depressing at times. But if you can work your way through that, it's also a very good movie. (7/10)
It revolves around the relationship between Jonathon and Nick - an estranged father and son who haven't seen each other for 18 years. Both are struggling. Jonathon lives a fantasy about being a classic American author who's written a classic novel - notwithstanding that no one will publish it. He's an alcoholic taxi driver really; and he ends up on the streets after being kicked out of his apartment. There's some play made of him being racist and homophobic, but those characteristics really didn't take centre stage for me. He was just difficult. Nick also fancies himself as a writer, but he's dealing with a lot of demons from his past - the fact that his father was never present in his life, and the fact that his mother (played in flashbacks by Julianne Moore) committed suicide (he thinks because she read an unfinished story about herself that he wrote, before he had a chance to add at the end of it how much he loved her and what a good mother she was.) He drinks, he does drugs, but eventually he lands a job at a homeless shelter, and - much to his surprise - into the shelter one day walks Jonathon. The story goes from there.
While often dark and depressing, this is an interesting enough story, made even more interesting that it's based on Nick Flynn's actual memoirs. Aside from the father-son relationship, one of the most interesting aspects of it is the depiction of life in a homeless shelter. It also features magnificent performances from Dano, and especially from De Niro, who proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's still got it. His portrayal of the troubled Jonathon was superb.
This is dark and depressing at times. But if you can work your way through that, it's also a very good movie. (7/10)