SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

sol- Disinterested in kids her own age, a precious preteen girl scout from an affluent neighbourhood decides to befriend a man twice her age who mows her parents' lawn in this captivating drama from 'The Year My Voice Broke' director John Duigan. A talented director of youngsters, Duigan gets an excellent performance out of Mischa Barton in the lead role, while Sam Rockwell holds his own as the lawnmower man. Reluctant to accept her friendship because of what others may think, Rockwell is nevertheless won over by Barton's natural charm and charisma and the film becomes filled with tension from then on in. From onlookers eyeing them at a petrol station, to Rockwell touching Barton's scar at her own request, uncertainty lingers in the air as to what will be misconstrued and at what point will someone get the wrong idea about their platonic relationship and accuse Rockwell of terrible things. It is a thought-provoking film as it challenges general preconceptions out there about the inability for an older man to be friends with a younger woman with nothing else going on between them, but it is the hypocrisy of the town that they live in that is most striking here with Rockwell suspected by many of petty thievery simply because he is poor and Barton's father caring nothing about a local teenager fondling her chest because he is the son of a powerful figure in town. Not everything works here, especially how Rockwell handles a dog incident late in the piece, but it is an unexpectedly gripping ride, capped off with a magical ending.

Robert J. Maxwell This weird and improbable tale opens with a splendid overview of a newly built, upscale, gated community called Camelot, with over-sized houses miles and miles of sprinkled lawns, spotless curving streets, no trees, and a watchful guard packing a side arm. It's a phantasmagorically revolting panorama of modern life.I watched it chiefly because I'd understood that Angie Harmon has a nude scene, and so she does, but it only lasts a second and she's on screen for less than five minutes.But I was enthralled by the fey narrative that followed that bleak opening. The families are all bourgeois in their values as well as their life styles. But it's rather like "Blue Velvet" in that there are a horde of repugnant beetles and ants under all that Kentucky bluegrass that Sam Rockwell, the young and sweaty lawn man mows.The story is told principally from the point of view of ten-year-old Mischa Barton. She's magnetic. She not the kind of stunning young beauty that arouses the pedophile in every normal man. I mean, she's not Brooke Shields. But she gives a wholly natural performance, despite the sometimes fairy tale dialog that the writers have stuck her with.Barton befriends the modest, poor lawn man, Rockwell, for reasons that aren't immediately discernible. Rockwell looks the part of a poverty stricken working man. He wears sweaty clothes and lives in a tumble-down trailer somewhere in the woods. But the role he plays is constrained by his acting style. He slouches around like James Dean, and he's what some directors call, well, a "dung kicker actor," in that he seems so often to be staring down at his shoes, as if prodding a cow flop with the toe of his dirty boot. The growing bond between Rockwell and Barton is the essence of the plot and it doesn't quite clear the bar. Barton manages to convey the desperation behind her attraction, but Rockwell too often seems indifferent and even hostile. It's not entirely his fault. The script doesn't help. See "Sundays and Cybele" if you can, for an example of how to get this subtle kind of message across without weakening it.The rest of the cast is adequate but stereotyped. Barton's immaculate father takes advantage of a chance to humiliate his gardener, and he's given to jumping to faddish conclusions. Kathleen Quinlan, a fine actress, is enclosed in the iron maiden role of nervous and hypocritical mother, who allows one of the local studs to gobble her up while she prepares a salad for the back yard barbecue. Two of the local studs appear periodically to ridicule Rockwell and do Quinlan when Dad isn't around. One of them owns a hostile Doberman that attacks Rockwell, who later beats to death for insufficient reasons. I'm not sure whether the canicide was intended to show that, like everyone else, Rockwell is imperfect, or whether it was a plot device to drive Barton and Rockwell away from one another for a while. At its climax, the film falls apart.Barton is given to telling others the story of a witch, the imaginary Baba Yaga. She's not making it up. I don't know where a ten year old living on No Problem Drive in bone-dry Camelot Gardens got it, but it's an old Russian folk tale, complete with the magic comb and towel that saves the fleeing innocent victim. There are lots of versions and they're widespread throughout Europe and Asia. It's been written in Sanskrit, and it's one of the few tales that made the jump across the Siberian land bridge with the American Indians, if I remember correctly.The writers have done some research, but the movie fails to cohere, despite some gripping scenes and despite the stellar performance of young Mischa Barton, who grew up to be ravishing and problem ridden. At that, though, its deliberate pace and thoughtful camera work and editing are a vast improvement over the parade of junk now coming out of a decadent Hollywood.

rockwellian I adore this film, most definitely up there in my favorites. Mischa Barton and Sam Rockwell are both equally amazing in this film with great chemistry. A beautiful story of an unlikely yet true friendship, friendship that is judged too quickly. Inside the life of an innocent girl, dreaming of fairy tales and a man who gives no mind to such things. A truly magnificent film that is easily deserving of 4 stars. This movie used to be (And probably still is) considered very controversial simply because of a 20 year old and 12 year old having a completely innocent friendship. I think it's really sad that an adult and a child can have a platonic, nonviolent friendship when a couple can't exclude violence, words or otherwise. It's obvious that little Devon(Mischa Barton) has an infatuation with the much older Trent(Sam Rockwell). She probably experienced her first heartbreak in it. At one point, it does seem as if it's going to take that route into molestation, but it greatly derives off away from that, the thought diminishing quite quickly. However, their friendship soon has some problems, causing chaos in each of their lives. What I really found stupid and useless in this film was the young boy who just went around terrorizing people in the neighborhood. He was Dennis the Menace who didn't have a purpose in the film. Trent's relationship with the boys really sped up the film and followed through with a great ending to an overall great movie. The ending was far fetched but suits the film's fairytale feel nicely.

dead47548 An absolutely adorable, uplifting, beautiful story centered around two of the best performances I've ever seen. It's a witty, subtly hilarious tale of a young man and a little girl from different worlds who form the most beautiful friendship I've ever seen. Of course due to their backgrounds and their ages they have to keep this budding friendship a secret and when it's discovered everyone gets angry. There are a few little subplots of adultery and homosexuality that are surely interesting, but nothing compares to how much this friendship compelled me. I could have watched those two interact for days and not gotten bored for a single second. They were magical. And the ending had me in tears. The "Home is in my hands" scene just had me crying like a little girl. Sam Rockwell and Mischa Barton were flawless in their roles. Easily two of the best performances I've ever seen.