I'm I not getting something here? Saw it last night (I know late to the party) and it took all my effort to not fall asleep during it. That pacing is brutal and wtf with the unresolved issues that they devoted 2 hours to drawing out?
What exactly is the story they are telling here? That the kid is a self-absorbed ass who is more interested in getting laid than his father dying? That the Uncle is a miserable socially inept wracked with guilt guy who likes to fight? I understand that we are all flawed to some degree and that this is a family with a huge ton of grief but did it really take 2 hours to tell that and then leave everyone hanging?
How do you find redemption after what happened to Lee? I think that was the point, sometimes there is no redeeming. A sad but beautiful film.
One of the better breakdowns of it along with what Jrud wrote. Yeah now that yo mention it is was the brother where the range was left on
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You seem to be bothered by "unresolved issues". How often I. Real life to things get tied up in a nice, neat little bow? Felt very true to life IMO. There are few 100% happy endings. Oftentimes things just get a little better, as they did by the end of the movie.
Also think you're misreading and/or simplifying the characters motivations.
I can appreciate a movie that remains unresolved, and I get how both helped each other a bit towards normalcy. To me, it just felt like a few snapshots of a story that could be more completely told and still have the unresolved aspect to it
Look, I don't need everything to be all roses. But, I watch TV and movies to escape reality for a couple of hours. I found the ending the most depressing part, because there was no sliver of a silver lining.
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In comment 13398289 montanagiant said:
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In comment 13398279 j_rud said:
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You seem to be bothered by "unresolved issues". How often I. Real life to things get tied up in a nice, neat little bow? Felt very true to life IMO. There are few 100% happy endings. Oftentimes things just get a little better, as they did by the end of the movie.
Also think you're misreading and/or simplifying the characters motivations.
I can appreciate a movie that remains unresolved, and I get how both helped each other a bit towards normalcy. To me, it just felt like a few snapshots of a story that could be more completely told and still have the unresolved aspect to it
Yeah,mo guess I can't argue that. I just liked it for what it was. Thought there were some great scenes, like when the kid was standing by the freezer, or the joke he made when they found the truck after being so cold. It just felt very "real" to me. I liked the way they told the story. I kinda got the vibe that it was WAY too much to be told in two hours, and I liked the ending. The kid got the boat and a hand to keep the business going, and (hopefully) Affleck's character was ready to start building towards a more involved life.
The one part I did like was how they illustrated the kids coping mechanism with his father's death. Where that part lost me though was how everyone looked at it as being normal and ok
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When he runs into the ex-wife while she is walking the baby she admits that it was actually her who mistakenly started the fire
Then Affleck could've punched her, too. He could've turned into the Bahhhhston guy from the Dunkin Donuts commercial from SNL. Domestic violence, shitty coffee. Benny Hill music. I smell BIG box office numbahs...
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In comment 13398339 montanagiant said:
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When he runs into the ex-wife while she is walking the baby she admits that it was actually her who mistakenly started the fire
Then Affleck could've punched her, too. He could've turned into the Bahhhhston guy from the Dunkin Donuts commercial from SNL. Domestic violence, shitty coffee. Benny Hill music. I smell BIG box office numbahs...
She didn't admit to starting the fire. She apologized for saying terrible things to him.
I know, I was stating that would have been an interesting twist to the movie
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In comment 13398305 j_rud said:
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In comment 13398289 montanagiant said:
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In comment 13398279 j_rud said:
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You seem to be bothered by "unresolved issues". How often I. Real life to things get tied up in a nice, neat little bow? Felt very true to life IMO. There are few 100% happy endings. Oftentimes things just get a little better, as they did by the end of the movie.
Also think you're misreading and/or simplifying the characters motivations.
I can appreciate a movie that remains unresolved, and I get how both helped each other a bit towards normalcy. To me, it just felt like a few snapshots of a story that could be more completely told and still have the unresolved aspect to it
Yeah,mo guess I can't argue that. I just liked it for what it was. Thought there were some great scenes, like when the kid was standing by the freezer, or the joke he made when they found the truck after being so cold. It just felt very "real" to me. I liked the way they told the story. I kinda got the vibe that it was WAY too much to be told in two hours, and I liked the ending. The kid got the boat and a hand to keep the business going, and (hopefully) Affleck's character was ready to start building towards a more involved life.
The one part I did like was how they illustrated the kids coping mechanism with his father's death. Where that part lost me though was how everyone looked at it as being normal and ok
Was that a coping mechanism, or was he just a selfish prick of a kid?
I think coping because the deal with it bothering him about his Dad being pout on ice until the thaw
She's a tremendous actor. I loved her in Blue Valentine.
Moreover, it deals with some fundamental and tragic aspects of the human condition. Loss, despair, disappointment, frailty.
For those that think the ending is not tidy enough...well, that's life. I will say that I felt that there was growth in the characters and while perhaps the ending was not "happy," there was a feeling that they reached the best "terms" they were capable of. And the fact that the movie ended how it started...with Uncle and nephew spending time on the water...gives hope for the future. Especially after all the tragedy of the intervening years.
As for the fire...some of you have it wrong. The children slept upstairs. He and the wife slept on the 1st floor. The game room was in the basement. When he talks to the police he explains that he went upstairs to check on the kids, then went back downstairs to start a fire because the central air bothered his wife's sinuses. The kids died because they were upstairs. She lived because she was on the main floor. The only one that was on the couch was him.
Great movie. It's not Star Wars or Batman and that is a disappointment to some, but surely not to all, and definitely not to me.
Were y'all drunk when you watched this film?