Review of Welcome to the Rileys (2010) by Yourstruly — 26 Nov 2012

I completely fell in love with this. And, even though it is generally well received, I am truly astonished that it has gotten even a noticeable amount of lackluster reviews. I do not see what is not to like.

All three of the main actors/actresses are real all the way down to the marrow, the story unfolds very smoothly with all of the passion, humor and soulfulness that one may find in real life, and what I really adore about Welcome to the Riley's is that at no point did I feel as though I was being told a tale.

It wasn't like watching a movie. It was more like watching a documentary. Because everything from the smallest facial expressions, to the most insignificant gestures is just saturated with texture and emotion.

It's the quick and thoughtless remarks that the characters make, and the angles of certain glimpses of camera work that allow us, the audience, to understand what is really going on underneath all of the outward doings and occurrences.

I was invested, I was interested, I was engaged and I cared about everything that was happening in this fictional world that died in two hours. Aspiring filmmakers, take notes. This is how you make something memorable and evocative.

Truly touching. Moving in more ways than one. And even though nothing really sad happens during the course of the film...I almost found my self crying from the sheer humanity. Brilliant. Wonderful. Special.