Review of Welcome to the Rileys (2010) by Teddy V — 17 Apr 2012

Ever since the death of their daughter Emily, Doug (James Gandolfini) and Lois Riley (Melissa Leo) have been drifting apart. As Lois wrestles with a suffocating sense of guilt over her daughter's death, Doug copes by entering into an affair with Vivian, a local waitress. Lately, Lois hasn't even been able to muster the courage to venture outside, summoning hairdressers to her home in order to maintain appearances and communicating with few people other than her sister Harriet and the local pastor. When Vivian dies and Doug finds himself in a New Orleans strip club during a business trip, he realizes he's come to a dangerous crossroads in life. Turning down an offer for a private dance by 16-year-old stripper Mallory (Kristen Stewart), Doug instead accompanies the girl home and makes a most unusual proposition: If Mallory will allow him to stay in her run-down house long enough to straighten himself out, he will pay her $100 a day for her trouble. For Mallory, who isn't used to getting money for nothing, it seems like a great deal. She accepts, and Doug phones Lois to tell her he won't be coming home. Lois realizes that she needs to go beyond her comfort zone to save her marriage with Doug and drives down to New Orleans....

"Welcome To The Riley´s" is a moving little movie carried by excellent performances from the main cast. First of all it´s great to see Kristen Stewart in yet a role that challenges her and takes her miles away from the Twilight role. She is great as Mallory. She is complex, vulnerable, streetwise (but yet not), foulmouthed, attractive and angry. I like her jittery performance and Stewart shows her whole acting register. Her strong aura and beauty is very much of my liking. She has many great performances ahead of her. It´s a treat to see Gandolfini and Leo as well. They have such chemistry between eachother. Leo is just brilliant as Lois. Just watching her body language and eye movements is of high class. Both of them act in minimalistic ways that brings life to the characters. They are Doug and Lois. The main plot concerning loss of a child and the love between two people is hardly topics we haven´t seen before, but they are handled emotionally very well by director Jake Scott and his cast. Two thumbs up for "Welcome To The Riley´s".