Based on a biography about a young man going through gay-conversion therapy, the touchstone for this type of family drama again goes back to Redford's Ordinary People - beautifully shot, very carefully and deliberately directed, terrific performances but with an overall feel of clinical dissection rather than depth of emotion. Lucas Hedges again knocks it out of the park and proves to be an exceptionally capable young actor in the lead role, Nicole Kidman does great character work with a mother role that does not feel fully written, and Russell Crowe gives a nuanced performance in limited screen time as the initially stereotypical pastor father character whose conflicts play well towards the end of the film. This is a well-made and well-played film but it is quite unsubtle in its messages and is hard to engage with emotionally.
No comments:
Post a Comment