Review of You Can Count on Me (2000) by Jennifer A — 22 Apr 2006

[b]21 Grams[/b], directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, is a psycholgical drama about three very different people who's lifes interwine. Sean Penn stars as Paul, a man with a bad heart who will die if he doesn't get a transplant soon. He also has a troubled marriage with Mary (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who is insistent on having Paul's child through artificial insemination. Christine (Naomi Watts) is a young married woman with two young daughters. She also has a drug problem. Jack (Benecio Del Toro) is an ex-con and a born again Christian. He has two young children and a devoted wife Marianne (Melissa Leo) who has stood by him through all his stints in prison. The three main characters lives will eventually cross paths after Jack is involved in a hit-and-run accident which kills Christine's husband and two daughters. She agrees to donate her husband's heart, and Paul is the recipient. Paul becomes obsessed with finding out who donated the heart, which leads him to Christine. Christine and Paul then plot to find and kill Jack.

The film has a complex, non-linear structure which bounces back and forth, piecing together the story. It can be somewhat confusing at times, but the story and acting is so compelling that it pulls the viewer in. Aside from the one incident which pulls the three together, each character has unrelated issues and inner demons they must battle. All three leads give Oscar worthy performances, with Watts and Del Toro recieving Academy award nominations. Melissa Leo is also a standout. It's not an easy film to watch, but its a rewarding one. I look forward to seeing more of Inarritu's work.

[b]You Can Count On Me[/b], directed by Kenneth Lonergan, is a family drama focusing on the relationship of a brother and sister. Laura Linney stars as Sammy Prescott, a conservative single mother trying to provide for her 8 year old son Rudy (Rory Culkin). Her brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) pays Sammy a visit. Sammy and Terry's parents died in an automobile accident when both were young, and as adults each has been affected in different ways. Despite a bad relationship which produced Rudy, Sammy has been able to focus on her career, religion and raising Rudy. On the other hand Terry lacks direction and has drifted across the United States doing odd jobs and drugs. Once Terry arrives the two siblings have conflicts, but young Rudy and Terry form a bond. Meanwhile Sammy has a strict new boss Brian (Matthew Broderick) whom she has an affair with. The film explores these relationships and their resolutions.

This small little film is very well written and extremely believable. Terry and Sammy could be anyone's brother or sister. They may be different as night and day, but that's often the case. Yet despite the differences and conflicts they love one another dearly. Laura Linney (in an Oscar nominated performance) and Mark Ruffalo are both fantastic, as is the supporting cast. In an era of big budget, mass marketed, cookie-cutter Hollywood films, [i]You Can Count On Me [/i]is a delight.

[b]Good Night, And Good Luck[/b], directed by George Clooney, is a political drama which focuses on a brief period of the life of respected journalist Edward Murrow. During the 1950's, Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy was stirring up controversy with his allegations that Communists were infiltrating government, Hollywood, and just about every sector of America. Murrow (David Strathairn) became the first journalist to publicly question McCarthy's tactics on his [i]See It Now[/i] series. The film also stars Frank Langella as CBS head William Paley, George Clooney as the head of CBS News Fred Friendly as well as Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels and Ray Wise.

[i]Good Night, And Good Luck [/i]is an excellent civics lesson in an era of the "Patriot Act". It's a good film, but in my opinion could have dug a bit deeper into the McCarthy scandal. At ninety minutes I felt the film was a bit too short. Had it been longer the film could have also delved deeper into some of the supporting characters. The cast, especially Strathairn, is excellent. It's a solid film, but could have been better with more length.