Review of You Can Count on Me (2000) by Meredith C — 18 Oct 2010

I saw a little of this film, and found myself drawn in by it's realness and well portrayed characters by Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney, and Rory Culkinof the talented Culkin clan.

It centers around a brother and sister who were orphaned as children due to the death of their parents in a car accident. The sister grows to become a single mother living in the very same Catskill town raising an 8 year old son. When her brother who just seems to float around arrives for a visit, things come to the surface of the sleepy town of Scottsville New York for better or worse depending on the viewpoint or timing.

Terry(Ruffalo) bonds with Rudy(Culkin), and wants to give him a broader perspective that he lacks in his small-town childhood by showing and telling him things that have been lost to his fathertless existence.

Simplicity is really what makes this film work because there are no big bugdget Hollywood effects. The film's wheels turn with no more than an apt score and some fine acting revealing characters like those you may know in your very life.