Stars:
***
Rating: PG-13 for
language and mature themes
Run
Time: 1
hour, 32 minutes
Jim
Broadbent is at his brilliant best in this grown-up drama about the oft shaky
bonds between fathers and sons.
The
father in question is tweedy, blustery Arthur (Broadbent), a man who thrives on
minor duplicities and cheating his way through life. As a child, his son Blake
(Bradley Johnson) admires his dad and even emulates him. As a rebellious teen
(Matthew Beard) he resents the hell out of the sanctimonious old sod.
Director
Anand Tucker pieces together this edgy mood piece with the skill of an expert
quilter; a square here and a square there until the whole represents something
ample and absolute. A father-son camping trip that’s rife with tension, Blake’s
first explorations with the opposite sex, the adult Blake (Colin Firth) coming
to terms with the grip that cancer has on the narcissistic man who for better
or worse has shaped his existence. Resentment flows hot, dark and deep.
There’s
an air of unfinished business about it all and I’m a sucker for loose ends in
the name of family dysfunction. Script is shrewd, crafting a poignant yet prickly
atmosphere and rendering Arthur both infuriating and sympathetic.
But
less is more -- Tucker take note. His consistently heavy hand with the arty,
self-conscious camerawork distracts from the fluid yet temperamental aura and its
inherent, civilized intelligence.
Superb
English cast is rounded out by Juliet Stevenson as Arthur’s long-suffering wife
and Gina McKee as Blake’s sensible spouse.
A
refreshing remedy to the blockbuster summer blues.