Saturday, 14 December 2024

VOD: Nutcrackers (dir: David Gordon Green, 2024)

"So funny I forgot to laugh."

This wintry December-set family drama sees city high-flier Mike (Ben Stiller) happily living the single life, until the tragic death of his sister and her husband finds him charged with looking after his four young rambunctious and almost feral recently-orphaned nephews back on their ramshackle farm whilst finding them a new home.  With David Gordon Green directing and Ben Stiller and Linda Cardellini (as the attached social worker) taking the adult leads, it is surprising that none of them make any real impression, as the film grinds along in a slow and somewhat dreary manner, never really doing much beyond its simple premise, and with lethargic scenes of what feels like a lot of dull improvisation, culminating in a family performance of their unique take on The Nutcracker to the townsfolk that barely ignites and unsurprisingly makes Uncle Mike realise that there might be more to life than his career.  Homer Janson has some nice moments as the eldest of the four brothers, but overall the film comes across as a rather flat emotionally.  A snippet of audio dialogue at the very end of the credits rounds off the final event.
 

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