You Can Count On Me.....Movie Club

I'll be watching this film tonight, and I'll be posting comments on Tuesday, but here's the thread in case anyone wants to make comments before that.

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NEW (as of 1/24/05): Quick Reviews #10

Oh, where do we begin? You'd be hard-pressed to find a movie more true to life. The understated, simple photography and the brilliant performances and the wonderfully real dialogue still haven't ceased to amaze me, even after countless viewings.

This is one of the only movies that consistently invites my tears. I get choked up at that last scene, on the bench, every single time. Laura Linney delivers those lines and Mark Ruffalo shifts uncomfortably, then he embraces her and they both cry and he tells her everything is going to be ok - it's beautiful. I can't even begin to describe how much I admire, and love this movie. Great choice, Mark.

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**** the Lakers!

This was actually Kong's choice!

Kong has the same reaction as you to that final scene. Kong has scene it countless times, and everytime it manages to choke him up.

What really makes this movie work is how authentic it is. These characters seem just like real people. They aren't a jumble of Hollywood cliches, or flat caricatures; they are about as close to living breathing people as characters can get. Their relationships are also very genuine as well, and you can tell that Lonergan was not only truly inspired to write the script, but that he took his time to add detail to the people and relations that populate it.

You Can Count on Me is able to well up big emotions without resorting to sappiness. It let's us into its character lives. We share their hopes, and failures, their frustration and jubilation. We do this because we want to; we aren't manipulated into caring for them. We either do, or we don't, and Kong sure as hell does.

Fantastically written, beautifully filmed, perfectly scored, and amazingly acted; Kong considers it one of the most genuinely affecting films he's seen.

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Kong's Reviews:
Stuck On You
Bad Santa

I wanted to clarify and make sure Kong got credit for this pick, but I see that Kong has already replied.

I just finished watching it, but it's late, so I'll post on Tuesday.

Mark Ruffalo's character, Terry, is one of the most "real" characters I've seen. Ruffalo does such an incredible job in this film. His body language, facial expressions, speech patterns, and dialogue are flawless. Despite the character's "screw ups" and bad decisions, we see that he really is a pretty good guy. Ruffalo is, in my opinion, the best part of this film. On a side note, I read that Ruffalo was diagnosed with a brain tumor while filming The Last Castle in 2000. He was forced to drop out of Joaquin Phoenix's role in Signs.

Laura Linney's character, Sammy, was not as "likeable," mostly because of her uptight and hypocritical stance toward Terry, but this humanized this character and created such a strong sense of family in the film.

The musical score was an interesting blend of such genres as classical and country. It's my opinion that the best scores are the ones you don't notice the first time you see the film because they supplement the visual on the screen so well as not to be noticed. I think there were a few scenes in which the music took over the scene a little bit because of either the choice or volume of the music.

It's amazing how much all the Caulkin brothers sound alike.

I'm not sure I want to criticize the ending, but my initial reaction was that there was no resolution: Sammy didn't resolve any of her problems, Terry didn't resolve any of his problems, and Rudy Jr. didn't seem to accept that Rudy Sr. was actually his father (even after Sammy told him it was really him). None of the characters paid consequences for their poor decisions, including Sammy's boss, Rudy's dad, Sammy, and Terry. But like I said, I don't want to criticize it because the bus bench scene was so incredible and powerful. I guess the ending is part of what made this film so real. It didn't follow a formula of Hollywood, but rather, it followed the random pattern of life while still maintaining symmetry and closure.