You Can Count On Me

Rating:
Summary: This is what a REAL family drama looks like
Review: When a movie takes on the most ordinary, potentially mundane of situations and turns it into an experience that is nothing less than wholly enthralling, you know you're in the presence of one of the year's very best films. Kenneth Lonergan's 'You Can Count On Me,' which along with Spike Jonze's 'Being John Malkovich' may be the most impressive directorial debut I've ever seen, is that kind of a movie. It starts from the most limited resources imaginable, and by sheer virtue of its modesty proceeds to pull off the kind of miraculous, emotionally resonant storytelling that reduces Hollywood garbage like 'Stepmom' to shame.

Terry (Mark Ruffalo) and Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney) are a brother and sister who have shared a unique bond ever since their parents died in a car crash years ago. Sammy is now a single mother who works at a bank in a small New York town, while her brother has become something of a ne'er-do-well'a leech and a freewheeler who's constantly hitting his sister up for money. After a long absence, Terry comes home to visit'and that sets the film in motion.

There are no jarring plot twists, no unrealistic turns of character, no ridiculous leaps of logic to bring this scenario to a tidy resolution. 'You Can Count On Me' is too intelligent to treat these characters as anything less than human beings, and too honest to resort to the coy emotional pandering that passes for today's 'family' dramas. What the film does, with a display of patience and restraint that is almost stunning in its rarity, is sit back and observe these people interact. Blessed by Lonergan's uncanny ear for realistic, articulate dialogue (no cliched soundbytes or glib one-liners here), 'You Can Count On Me' plumbs such intimate depths of truth, humor and drama you feel positively grateful for being allowed to share in these people's lives.

That's due in no small part to the two central actors, who create a sibling relationship that's so painfully funny and real it has to be seen to be believed. Linney has had diabolical supporting roles in other films ('The Truman Show' and 'The House of Mirth'), but it took a small little movie like this to reveal the full expanse of her powers. Her acting is seamless, touching upon so many different nuances, and with such little effort, that it's easy to underestimate the consummate skill behind it. Make no mistake; this is one actress we will be seeing plenty more of, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Linney won a rackful of Oscars in the future to compensate for the one Julia Roberts stole from her. No less impressive are Ruffalo, whose performance drew comparisons to Brando--Brando, for heaven's sake--and Rory Culkin, as Sammy's son.

Watching Lonergan's film, I was reminded of Mike Leigh's masterpiece 'Secrets and Lies,' which similarly dealt with an entire spectrum of human emotions using the gentlest of approaches. Lonergan is a very different filmmaker, but just as sure-footed. One of his many masterstrokes is to withhold until the end the true meaning of the title, which at first glance might seem unnecessarily drippy. It isn't. Only in a final scene as poignant as it is understated do we fully understand the title's significance, and the full meaning of what Lonergan has imparted to us through this beautiful, bountiful film.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST SEE FAMILY DRAMA...
Review: This is a tautly directed family drama with superlative performances by an outstanding ensemble cast. Laura Tinney gives a strong, well nuanced performance as Sammy, the put upon single parent of an eight year old boy. Jon Tenney gives a compelling portrayal as Tinney's stalwart, though dull, suitor. Matthew Broderick is terrific as Tinney's officious, insecure new boss with whom she ends up having a passionate affair. Mark Ruffalo gives an amazing performance as Sammy's sensitive, errant brother, Terry, who tosses a monkey wrench into his sister's seemingly well ordered life, throwing it into total chaos. Rory Culkin is wonderful as Tinney's quiet little boy, who believes his long missing father to be much more that he actually is.

The story takes place in a rural locale. The opening scene shows a car accident in which a man and a woman are killed. The next scene shows a law enforcement officer breaking the news of their deaths to a young girl who is babysitting her younger brother. The movie now goes forward in time. The brother, Terry, now grown, is returning home after a long sojourn away. Home is where Sammy, his sister, lives with her eight year old son. She lives in their childhood home. Sammy and Terry have their reunion, but it is not the one that they each dreamt of having.

What happens to them, when Terry comes home, is a rich tapestry of human emotions, which is deftly woven into a complex family drama. This character driven film is compelling, keeping the viewer fully absorbed, as the story unfolds. Well nuanced, memorable performances provide the icing on the cake. This movie was a veritable surprise and a most enjoyable one, at that.

Rating:
Summary: "This is a whole cuisine of garments."
Review: 4.5 stars. Once in a while a film comes along that is inspiring in a time when violence and huge explosions are par-for-the-course at the local cineplex. This is a character driven film with fantastic acting from Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo; and a perfectly conceived screenplay by director Kenneth Lonergan. This film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Actress(Linney) and Best Original Screenplay(Lonergan). But for what little it is worth, I think it should have been up for Best Picture. Everyone I know who has seen this film has enjoyed every minute of it. What's not to like? The acting is superb, the characters are interesting and endearing, and the script is amazingly solid. Mark Ruffalo is so convincing in his portrayal of a loner who has lost his faith in humanity and himself that I considered it a slap in the face that he didn't receive an Oscar nomination. His work is really that good. As for Laura Linney, I had already fallen for her in "The Truman Show" where she played Truman's saccharin-sweet wife to the hilt. But it was in this film that I truly fell in love with her talent. I remember telling a friend of mine, after watching "The Truman Show," that someday she would be nominated for the Academy Award. I didn't have to wait long for my prophecy to come true. I was very pleased with myself for having noticed her prodigious talent as well as her incredible beauty. The entire cast should be mentioned in support, particularly Matthew Broderick who adds both strain and a child-like enthusiasm to the story, and in all the right degrees. It's really too bad that more people haven't heard of this film. Even my older brother liked it, and he is about the most unlikely person I know to enjoy a film about real people. That, to me, is extraordinary. I guarrantee this film for any who want genuine emotion with authentic characterization. This film is a delight! Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: One of the year's best films!
Review: Kenneth Lonergan has written and directed a film here that will be studied for years by film school types, enjoyed by audiences, and surely receive an Oscar nod. The question is how to take a nice story and elevate it to the level of a truly great film. The answer is in the talent and artistry of those involved. From the acting to the editing, Lonergan delivers a film that is lean, muscular and as close to perfect as you're likely to see all year.

Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney, Truman's wife in The Truman Show) is a tightly wound single mother working at a bank in a sleepy little town in upper New York. Her brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) on the other hand is the sort of drifter that the family only sees on every third Thanksgiving, earning enough money from the odd construction job to get him through to the next adventure in Alaska or Florida or wherever he may find himself. Despite this, the two remain close after a car crash killed their parents when they were teenagers. And when Terry announces his return home, Sammy is ecstatic. Not only does she look forward to seeing him but her son Rudy (Rory Culkin, Macaulay's little brother) could really use a guy around for a while. And of course that's where the trouble starts.

Now on the surface, this is your standard 'Bad boy returns to a small town and shakes things up' set up, but it grows into something else that we rarely see: a true to life portrait of a brother-sister relationship. When Terry admits that he really came back to borrow some money, Sammy lets loose on him in a restaurant but the beauty is the build up. Lonergan's script perfectly conveys that awkwardness of seeing a family member after a long time away and the acting is simply superb all around. As the story progresses and Terry bonds with her son, we see Sammy start to revert back to her wilder days, having a giddy affair with her new (and married) boss at the bank (Matthew Broderick in his second real adult role). Terry, meanwhile, relates to 8 year old Rudy like a drinking buddy, making him promise he won't tell his mom about their little clandestine trip to the local pool hall. Of course he's also infuriatingly unreliable and often misguided in his attempts to treat the boy with the respect you feel he may have been missing as a child. Through all the bickering though, there's so much deep seated emotion between the three of them that it's sometimes painful just to watch.

This story would also lend itself to melodramatic speeches and weepy musical interludes, but Lonergan's direction is a study in restraint. In one scene, Terry tries to console Sammy: "You remember what we used to say when we were kids? You remember?" She mumbles, "Yeah, I remember" and hugs him, but it's never revealed to us. He's taken each scene and whittled it down to the very essence, where a tug at Sammy's clothing, or an outstretched arm holding a fishing pole takes the place of pages of dialogue. The effect is a marvelously paced and plotted film that can spend it's time on the things that are important, not on beating the emotions out of us with a club. And in this weak year for movie lovers, it's a refreshingly welcome surprise.

Rating:
Summary: ART FILM WITH BROAD APPEAL
Review: This is a very sweet, not maudlin, film of a brother and sister relationship forever bonded by love and familial obligation. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo are convincing and likable as siblings who share a traumatic childhood which matures them to the responsible (Linney) and irresponsible (Ruffalo) adults they've become. For being a so called 'art movie' which played in the smaller theatrical houses, it is surprisingly lightweight comedy-drama, never very demanding but engrossing nonetheless, amusing and touching. Rory Culkin playing Linney's 8 year-old son delivers an accomplished wry performance as the child at the center of the sibling's storm center. Although much different in dramatic content, I'm reminded of Martin Scorsese's, (credited here as a producer), "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", in it's similar folksy realistic view of the nuclear American family.

Rating:
Summary: ALEXS CAPSULE MOVIE REVIEWS
Review: Highlights: Great script; quietly effective atmosphere; avoids schmaltz - real emotions will evoke real tears; terrific cast; K. Lonergan's direction is awash with nuance; never hammers its audience with moralizing - cunningly judicious, the film's morals will nevertheless remain in your memory.
Lowpoints: The ending is a tad stretched-out.

Conclusion: It's difficult to pinpoint flaws in this Martin Scorsese-produced little gem, helmed by a Scorsese regular, screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan, who fills his story with so much realism, drama and wit, that it becomes difficult to isolate certain inconsistencies. Fortunately, "You Can Count on Me", which tells a story of a rebel brother named Terry (M. Ruffalo in an ingeniously amenable performance, emanating stubbornness and astuteness), who comes to ask his sister Sammy, a single middle-aged mother (L. Linney), for some cash. They haven't seen each other for a while, and while eventually their character differences preside, what we as the audience are witnessing throughout the film is raw honesty in the astute interactions between Terry, Sammy, and her little son Rudy. Terry as an intense father-figure results in catastrophe, and while Sammy truly loves him, she has to make sure he leaves before devastating Rudy's flow of daily life. L. Linney is magnificent as church-going Sammy who has a spontaneous affair with her boss (M. Broderick). Inspired by her defiant brother's visit, she delves into the affair headfirst, displaying the consequent conflicting emotions with awesome result. Overall, it is one of those singular melodramas that has real emotions, affecting performances, is entertaining, and doesn't have Julia Roberts in it.

Rating:
Summary: A touching character drama about a brother and sister
Review: A small movie set in a small town delivers various big elements including top-notch performances from its two leads, extremely effective character development all around and a poignant message dipped with the importance of love, family, relationships and spirituality. This is obviously not a typical Hollywood picture and surely not for everyone, but definitely one to see for anyone who appreciates superior character studies, feels confused, overwhelmed or bored about their own life, and is curious about the familial foundation which supports this entire movie. This isn't a very upbeat film. It does contain a handful of lighter moments, but is basically a movie that feels sort of somber all the way through but doesn't ever really get boring. The force of the writing is the main reason for that, with the superior performances set forth by all, straddling in as a close second. Major kudos go out to Mark Ruffalo, who completely inhabits his role as the loose younger brother with the knack for getting into trouble, as well as Laura Linney, playing the full role of mother, sister, lover and employee to a tee. The excellent rapport between the two leads also makes you glad to be spending some time with them

Rating:
Summary: Natural and ordinary is good
Review: It's a very ordinary movie. But yet, I found myself really enjoying it. And that may have been why I enjoyed it so much. BECAUSE it was ordinary.

The movie is about a brother and sister who are orphaned at a young age, Sammi and Terry. Years later, Terry comes back to the small town they grew up in and where Sammi still lives to ask her for money. A bond between Sammi's son and Terry is born and a rekindling between the brother and sister.

I was glad to be able to watch a movie where the characters were telling the story. I was also glad to watch a movie that focused on the brother-sister relationship because it's something not a lot of movies dwell in these days. I thought the writing and dialouge were fantastic. It felt so natural. But the highest point of this movie was the acting. Laura Linney was great. She was absolute perfect as Sammi. Matthew Broderick and Ken Lonergan were also great. Rory Kulkin is without a doubt the Kulkin Kid that has a real future in Hollywood. But the actor that really stood out for me was Mark Ruffalo. He was amazing as the wayward brother, Terry. He, along with everyone else, never over-acts. It's again ... natural.

And that's the element that appealed to me most. Everything is natural. And maybe to some natural is boring. But to me it was refreshing.

Rating:
Summary: Count On Me To Love It
Review: Certainly one of the best (and underrated) dramas of the last years, Kenneth Lonergan`s directorial debut is a subtle, poignant and moving work of art.

A story about the links between two lonely and confuse brothers who reunite after a few years far from each other, "You Can Count On Me" offers what most independent movies do better: in-depth and multi-layered character studies with complex, realistic and appealing relationships. The plot itself is simple, but the excellent and low-key acting (Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, Matthew Broderick), the witty dialogue, the cozy direction and the adequate score make this a must-see cinematic experience.

A superb family drama that perfectly combines melancholy and comedy (intelligent and heartfelt comedy, not predictable slapstick), this movie is as good as the also great (and very overlooked) "Moonlight Mile", by Brad Silberling, and much better than some overrated average dramas like "Magnolia" or "The Hours", both self-important pieces of filmaking.

"You Can Count On Me" is a pleasant example of "americana", giving an absorbing and interesting portrait of flawed yet likable individuals. One really cares for the characters here, since they are so believable and well-crafted (even if Laura Linney`s character boyfriend`s switches was a bit contrived). Overall, this indie effort works better than expected, providing a very promising debut for Lonergan and one of the best movies of 2000.

Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Way, way overrated.
Review: You Can Count on Me (Kenneth Lonergan, 2000)

Kenneth Lonergan, who wrote such screenplays as Analyze This and Gangs of New York, went behind the camera for his first (and to date only) time with You Can Count on Me. His script was nominated for an Academy Award, his first (he was also nominated two years later for Gangs of New York). His direction was not. The Academy goofed with the first, but not with the second.

Sam Prescott (Tales of the City's Laura Linney) and her younger brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo, recently of Windtalkers) don't see each other much. Sam is a reporter with the paper in the same town where she and Terry grew up; Terry left town as soon as he could and has been kicking around the country ever since. Sam has a young son, Rudy (played by Rory, the newest member of the Culkin clan to try and make it big), by a man who up and disappeared soon after. So when Terry drops in looking for money, and crises occur where he used to live, the stage seems set up for Rudy to gain himself a surrogate father Terry-style. Add to this Sam's new micromanaging boss (Matthew Broderick), and you've got yourself a story that Oprah would use as a charter for Oprah's Movie Club, if she ever gets around to starting one.

The main thing I kept thinking during this move is "boy, Matthew Broderick's career has sure gone down the tubes recently." First Election, then this? A few more dysfunction-of-the-week films and he'll become the first actor in Hollywood history to change his typecast halfway through his career. (He's in the upcoming remake of The Stepford Wives. Beware.) While the movie is well-enough acted, nothing much happens except the unraveling of an already-dysfunctional family. We haven't seen it enough, especially when there's nothing new added to it?

The one gem about this movie is Rory Culkin, who's got more acting talent in his little finger than his two older brothers combined, and uses a good deal of it here. Of course, a Culkin clan member playing a dysfunctional kid is probably not that much of a stretch, but it's obvious he's already got a good grasp of timing, and has a chance to succeed while the others failed.

So if you want to see Rory Culkin's big-screen debut, this is probably worth a rental. Otherwise, skip it. **