Twelve and Holding
I saw this film as a preview (it is being released on May 19th) and I must say that it is one of the better films I've seen on the stress of being an adolescent.
The film focuses on four tightly knit friends. Rudy and Jacob are twins. Rudy is the more outgoing one because Jacob has a big purple birthmark across his face which makes him a bit shy. Leonard is an overweight boy who comes from a family that takes the love of eating to a new level. Rounding out the foursome is Maylee, a smart as a whip girl who lives with her self absorbed mother (her parents are divorced). They like to hang out in a treehouse but because of development the tree and the treehouse are going to be destroyed. Some older boys set fire to the treehouse not knowing that Rudy and Leonard are in it. Leonard survives but Rudy dies and this event sets the tone of the film.
Rudy's parents are devastated, as they should be. But, as time passes on Rudy's mother's bitterness and anger only get worse. She wishes death on the two boys who torched the treehouse (they are spending a year in prison). The fact that she has Jacob brings her no comfort. She can't hide the fact that she always preferred Rudy to Jacob. Jacob's father is extremely passive. Because of his mother's comments Jacob visits the prison where the boys are staying. He brings pictures of his dead brother and threatens them with death.
Leonard has sustained a head injury but recovers and leaves the hospital. His mother lavishes him with a huge amount of food. One day he runs into his gym coach who gives him two books to read - one is on nutrition and one is on exercise. Much to his parents' dismay Leonard embarks on an exercise routine and changes his eating habits. You would think that his parents would be happy but they are not.
While Maylee is sitting in her mother's waiting room (her mother is a therapist) she meets one of her mother's patients who is named Gus. She develops a crush on him which leads her to do many strange things. It is obvious that Maylee is a very lonely girl. Her father doesn't go out of his way to see her and her mother all but ignores her. It is no wonder that she seeks out this man who has been kind to her.
Jacob, Leonard and Maylee are dealing with their grief in different ways. What is obvious is how much the actions of their parents influence the way they feel about themselves and the world around them. In the end it is the family that seemed the most "normal" that turns out to be the most dysfunctional.
Michael Cuesta (who directed L.I.E) does a fine job directing this dark and disturbing film. And, Anthony Cipriano has written a sharp screenplay that allows you to get inside the heads of these tormented pre-teens. The only actors that I recognized were Linus Roache, who played Rudy and Jacob's father and Annabella Sciorra, who played Maylee's mother. But, that doesn't matter. The performances by Conor Donovan (Jacob/Rudy), Jesse Camaho (Leonard) and Zoe Weizenbaum (Maylee) are wonderful and carry the film to its full potential. This film should be seen by everyone who is a parent of a young or adolescent child because it shows just how important they are to their child's mental and emotional well-being.
The film focuses on four tightly knit friends. Rudy and Jacob are twins. Rudy is the more outgoing one because Jacob has a big purple birthmark across his face which makes him a bit shy. Leonard is an overweight boy who comes from a family that takes the love of eating to a new level. Rounding out the foursome is Maylee, a smart as a whip girl who lives with her self absorbed mother (her parents are divorced). They like to hang out in a treehouse but because of development the tree and the treehouse are going to be destroyed. Some older boys set fire to the treehouse not knowing that Rudy and Leonard are in it. Leonard survives but Rudy dies and this event sets the tone of the film.
Rudy's parents are devastated, as they should be. But, as time passes on Rudy's mother's bitterness and anger only get worse. She wishes death on the two boys who torched the treehouse (they are spending a year in prison). The fact that she has Jacob brings her no comfort. She can't hide the fact that she always preferred Rudy to Jacob. Jacob's father is extremely passive. Because of his mother's comments Jacob visits the prison where the boys are staying. He brings pictures of his dead brother and threatens them with death.
Leonard has sustained a head injury but recovers and leaves the hospital. His mother lavishes him with a huge amount of food. One day he runs into his gym coach who gives him two books to read - one is on nutrition and one is on exercise. Much to his parents' dismay Leonard embarks on an exercise routine and changes his eating habits. You would think that his parents would be happy but they are not.
While Maylee is sitting in her mother's waiting room (her mother is a therapist) she meets one of her mother's patients who is named Gus. She develops a crush on him which leads her to do many strange things. It is obvious that Maylee is a very lonely girl. Her father doesn't go out of his way to see her and her mother all but ignores her. It is no wonder that she seeks out this man who has been kind to her.
Jacob, Leonard and Maylee are dealing with their grief in different ways. What is obvious is how much the actions of their parents influence the way they feel about themselves and the world around them. In the end it is the family that seemed the most "normal" that turns out to be the most dysfunctional.
Michael Cuesta (who directed L.I.E) does a fine job directing this dark and disturbing film. And, Anthony Cipriano has written a sharp screenplay that allows you to get inside the heads of these tormented pre-teens. The only actors that I recognized were Linus Roache, who played Rudy and Jacob's father and Annabella Sciorra, who played Maylee's mother. But, that doesn't matter. The performances by Conor Donovan (Jacob/Rudy), Jesse Camaho (Leonard) and Zoe Weizenbaum (Maylee) are wonderful and carry the film to its full potential. This film should be seen by everyone who is a parent of a young or adolescent child because it shows just how important they are to their child's mental and emotional well-being.
posted by Film Fanatic | 2:04 PM
2 Comments:
This was a very well written, layered film, honest in its depiction of pre-teens coming of age, while dealing with grief, sex, identity, obesity, and retribution. And, yes, that was Jayne Atkinson from "24."
The Cinema Kid
I knew that she look familiar.
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