This is a hard movie to get into, mostly because it has a very dark and ugly beginning. It is the bathroom of a night spot and the main character, Richie, is inspecting each one to see toilets filled with urine and feces, even on the toilet seat, it must represent the filthiest toilet in all of Manhattan. And then he finds a pretty dead young lady on the final toilet, a victim of an overdose.
The next scenes aren't much better, Richie is an his bathtub with a razor blade, intending to kill himself. So for me the rest of the movie was an uphill exercise to see if there was any redeeming value in watching it. I actually skipped to the last third of the movie and after seeing that I went back and viewed the parts I had skipped.
Written, directed, and starring Shawn Christensen as Richie, it is about a 30-something guy with a job at a bowling alley, in debt to some gangsters, and still in grief over his beloved Vista who had recently taken her own life. The only thing he can see is ending it all and joining Vista. Until his younger sister, a single mom, calls him after years of estrangement with an urgent need for Richie to meet her 11-yr-old daughter at her school and get her home safely.
That cute and smart daughter is Fatima Ptacek as Sophia, and she is the main reason to watch the entire movie. In real life she is studying Mandarin, and also appears to be in gymnastics. She plays her role perfectly and in the end she warms up to Richie. His having a niece that cares about him just might give him some reason to live.
The sister and mother of Sophia is played well by New Yorker Emmy Rossum. She is also a mess of sorts and when she gets brought into central lockup after an altercation it prolongs the time Richie has to stay with Sophia, and for him to consider his options.
Not for every taste, much of it is at night and shows the seedy underbelly of New York, but for those in the right frame of mind can be a worthwhile viewing. I found it on Netflix streaming movies.
SPOILERS: Sis got into trouble because she was having an affair with a married man and the wife got involved. One of Richie's friends came to the rescue, asking a lawyer to help out. She was grateful for Richie's help but when he got home he resumed his interrupted suicide mission. But then the phone rings again. At first he disconnects it, determined to not be sidetracked again, but is curious and plugs the phone back in. It is his sis inviting him to dinner in a few days with her and Sophia, he pauses, thinks, and says "I'll be there."
The next scenes aren't much better, Richie is an his bathtub with a razor blade, intending to kill himself. So for me the rest of the movie was an uphill exercise to see if there was any redeeming value in watching it. I actually skipped to the last third of the movie and after seeing that I went back and viewed the parts I had skipped.
Written, directed, and starring Shawn Christensen as Richie, it is about a 30-something guy with a job at a bowling alley, in debt to some gangsters, and still in grief over his beloved Vista who had recently taken her own life. The only thing he can see is ending it all and joining Vista. Until his younger sister, a single mom, calls him after years of estrangement with an urgent need for Richie to meet her 11-yr-old daughter at her school and get her home safely.
That cute and smart daughter is Fatima Ptacek as Sophia, and she is the main reason to watch the entire movie. In real life she is studying Mandarin, and also appears to be in gymnastics. She plays her role perfectly and in the end she warms up to Richie. His having a niece that cares about him just might give him some reason to live.
The sister and mother of Sophia is played well by New Yorker Emmy Rossum. She is also a mess of sorts and when she gets brought into central lockup after an altercation it prolongs the time Richie has to stay with Sophia, and for him to consider his options.
Not for every taste, much of it is at night and shows the seedy underbelly of New York, but for those in the right frame of mind can be a worthwhile viewing. I found it on Netflix streaming movies.
SPOILERS: Sis got into trouble because she was having an affair with a married man and the wife got involved. One of Richie's friends came to the rescue, asking a lawyer to help out. She was grateful for Richie's help but when he got home he resumed his interrupted suicide mission. But then the phone rings again. At first he disconnects it, determined to not be sidetracked again, but is curious and plugs the phone back in. It is his sis inviting him to dinner in a few days with her and Sophia, he pauses, thinks, and says "I'll be there."