"Touching Home" is a clever title for this 2008 film by twin brothers who then were novices in Hollywood. Brought up on baseball, their driving hope was to become pro ball players. That's how they would make something of themselves and escape the clutches of an all but nonexistent family and home life. Once grown, they come to grips with a dysfunctional family and alcoholic dad who has never been there for them.
The twin boys in real life are Noah and Logan Miller. After five years of minor league baseball in the southern mid-section of the U.S., they went back home to California. They held different jobs – always together as brothers, and eventually wound up in Los Angeles. They had jobs that introduced them to the seedy side of nightlife indulged in by many of the wealthy of Hollywood. They then decided to write a screenplay, and after reading "Lew Hunter's Screen writing 434," they wrote one. Soon they had written half a dozen. They then began work on a movie about their story growing up. And, in 2009, they wrote a book, "Either You're in or You're in the Way." It tells about their experiences leading up to the production of this movie, "Touching Home."
Although new to Hollywood, the Miller twins are in rare company already. Very few others have done what they did with this film. They produced it under the Winston name of their characters in the film. They are the sole writers of the script. They direct the film themselves. And they are the co-stars of the film, along with Ed Harris. I don't know that there's a record or list anywhere that has individuals who did all four major tasks in making a film: producer, director, screenwriter and actor co-star.
Besides Harris, they got some very good talent for the main supporting roles. Brad Dourif gives an outstanding performance as their uncle Clyde Winston who is mentally handicapped. And, Robert Forster does an excellent job as Perk Perkins, the local sheriff who is their baseball coach when they are little and friend and helper to their dad, Charlie (Ed Harris) later. Harris is excellent in his portrayal of the alcoholic father.
The story of Logan and Noah Miller is amazing in itself. They stuck together through great adversity and neglect. Today, probably very few people don't know about dysfunctional families. Many people have grown up in one themselves. Many know other people who have. "Touching Home" is a story about surviving such an upbringing, and in a way – perhaps the only way – in which the victims can find peace and consolation.
This movie has all other aspects done very well – the direction, filming, settings, camera work, etc. But what makes it stand out is the story itself. We never learn why the twins are growing up without a mother. But, their dad is an alcoholic from the outset – when we first see the boys at around age 10. There's no apparent physical abuse of the boys, but he comes home drunk late at night. Later, we see that their grandmother appears to be a reclusive alcoholic herself. And, they have a slightly mentally handicapped uncle whom the boys both like. Their dad is known as a hard worker, but he drinks and gambles away all that he earns. He now is living in the back of his covered pickup, which he parks at night near the edge of a forest or park.
The movie opens with the boys at a junior college in Arizona where they play baseball on a school team. Their hopes are to be noticed by pro scouts who regularly attend collegiate games looking for talented players. But their plans fall through when one of them can't maintain his grade level to stay qualified for sports. So, they pull up stakes and head back home where they plan to work, save money and continue training on their own together. Then they will return south to try out for the majors during spring training camps.
The bulk of the movie takes place from that point on. I won't describe the details. But this is where this film goes in a different direction than most. With their dad, Charlie's continued drinking, Lane and Clint (the brothers' characters) would be socially and morally right to stay away from him, and not let him influence their lives. But, because of the heartstring pull of one brother, the twins rise to a heroic love and empathy for their father. They don't enable his habit – they confront him on it. And because they don't shut him out of their lives, they see what many people do not. Charlie truly loves them. The film just gives us a glimpse of his remorse, and it shows his broken promises, denials and lies. In doing that, the film shines a spotlight on the insidiousness of addiction. How it holds a power and control over a person that an alcoholic or other addict can't counter and overcome alone.
The movie has a bittersweet ending, but one where the brothers find peace and consolation. They dedicate the movie to their dad, in the last clip before the end credits. A photo has a caption that reads, "For our Dad, David Arthur Miller." Unlike the movie, he actually died in jail. One thing apparent from the twins' experiences is that they have a healthy sense of humor. In part one of their book, they describe their moves and many jobs they had along the way. After describing what happened at one job they wrote, "We were fired from a bingo hall. Not many people can claim that."
The twin boys in real life are Noah and Logan Miller. After five years of minor league baseball in the southern mid-section of the U.S., they went back home to California. They held different jobs – always together as brothers, and eventually wound up in Los Angeles. They had jobs that introduced them to the seedy side of nightlife indulged in by many of the wealthy of Hollywood. They then decided to write a screenplay, and after reading "Lew Hunter's Screen writing 434," they wrote one. Soon they had written half a dozen. They then began work on a movie about their story growing up. And, in 2009, they wrote a book, "Either You're in or You're in the Way." It tells about their experiences leading up to the production of this movie, "Touching Home."
Although new to Hollywood, the Miller twins are in rare company already. Very few others have done what they did with this film. They produced it under the Winston name of their characters in the film. They are the sole writers of the script. They direct the film themselves. And they are the co-stars of the film, along with Ed Harris. I don't know that there's a record or list anywhere that has individuals who did all four major tasks in making a film: producer, director, screenwriter and actor co-star.
Besides Harris, they got some very good talent for the main supporting roles. Brad Dourif gives an outstanding performance as their uncle Clyde Winston who is mentally handicapped. And, Robert Forster does an excellent job as Perk Perkins, the local sheriff who is their baseball coach when they are little and friend and helper to their dad, Charlie (Ed Harris) later. Harris is excellent in his portrayal of the alcoholic father.
The story of Logan and Noah Miller is amazing in itself. They stuck together through great adversity and neglect. Today, probably very few people don't know about dysfunctional families. Many people have grown up in one themselves. Many know other people who have. "Touching Home" is a story about surviving such an upbringing, and in a way – perhaps the only way – in which the victims can find peace and consolation.
This movie has all other aspects done very well – the direction, filming, settings, camera work, etc. But what makes it stand out is the story itself. We never learn why the twins are growing up without a mother. But, their dad is an alcoholic from the outset – when we first see the boys at around age 10. There's no apparent physical abuse of the boys, but he comes home drunk late at night. Later, we see that their grandmother appears to be a reclusive alcoholic herself. And, they have a slightly mentally handicapped uncle whom the boys both like. Their dad is known as a hard worker, but he drinks and gambles away all that he earns. He now is living in the back of his covered pickup, which he parks at night near the edge of a forest or park.
The movie opens with the boys at a junior college in Arizona where they play baseball on a school team. Their hopes are to be noticed by pro scouts who regularly attend collegiate games looking for talented players. But their plans fall through when one of them can't maintain his grade level to stay qualified for sports. So, they pull up stakes and head back home where they plan to work, save money and continue training on their own together. Then they will return south to try out for the majors during spring training camps.
The bulk of the movie takes place from that point on. I won't describe the details. But this is where this film goes in a different direction than most. With their dad, Charlie's continued drinking, Lane and Clint (the brothers' characters) would be socially and morally right to stay away from him, and not let him influence their lives. But, because of the heartstring pull of one brother, the twins rise to a heroic love and empathy for their father. They don't enable his habit – they confront him on it. And because they don't shut him out of their lives, they see what many people do not. Charlie truly loves them. The film just gives us a glimpse of his remorse, and it shows his broken promises, denials and lies. In doing that, the film shines a spotlight on the insidiousness of addiction. How it holds a power and control over a person that an alcoholic or other addict can't counter and overcome alone.
The movie has a bittersweet ending, but one where the brothers find peace and consolation. They dedicate the movie to their dad, in the last clip before the end credits. A photo has a caption that reads, "For our Dad, David Arthur Miller." Unlike the movie, he actually died in jail. One thing apparent from the twins' experiences is that they have a healthy sense of humor. In part one of their book, they describe their moves and many jobs they had along the way. After describing what happened at one job they wrote, "We were fired from a bingo hall. Not many people can claim that."