I didn't rate this higher as a movie, because this is a low budget, small scale movie with a very limited appeal to anyone who doesn't care for this sort of story.
But for what it is...it's excellent. Pacing, back-story, acting, editing, camera work - this movie does everything it needs to to get the story across, and nothing it doesn't.
Yes, the story itself is somewhat heartless and mean. But it isn't meaner than it needs to be in order to ring true.
Bacon is so good in this that it's easy to overlook how good he actually is. His character is completely generic, but he invests the character with so much life and energy and purpose that it lifts the screenplay to a higher level.
And everyone else does a great job, too. Kudos to the casting agents and director who managed to find and coach a pair of young boys who are completely natural and believable in front of the camera.
I don't know if I will bother to watch this one again... the simple plot and small scale means there's not that much to see once you've got the basic plot...but for what it is, this is very good indeed.
But for what it is...it's excellent. Pacing, back-story, acting, editing, camera work - this movie does everything it needs to to get the story across, and nothing it doesn't.
Yes, the story itself is somewhat heartless and mean. But it isn't meaner than it needs to be in order to ring true.
Bacon is so good in this that it's easy to overlook how good he actually is. His character is completely generic, but he invests the character with so much life and energy and purpose that it lifts the screenplay to a higher level.
And everyone else does a great job, too. Kudos to the casting agents and director who managed to find and coach a pair of young boys who are completely natural and believable in front of the camera.
I don't know if I will bother to watch this one again... the simple plot and small scale means there's not that much to see once you've got the basic plot...but for what it is, this is very good indeed.