Little Men (B) Movie Review
Little Men stars Theo Taplitz and Michael Barbieri as Jake and Tony, respectively. The two young boys navigate the tricky waters of adolescence while their parents are entangled in a destructive and ugly legal matter.
I attended an early screening of this film as it closed the 2016 Maine International Film Festival. The programmer spoke about the film a bit before the viewing, citing it as a the perfect closing film that leaves an emotional impact but does not sink the viewer into a depression. My friend also described the film as a "garlic bread-y" movie because it's that kind of cozy film in which everyone is drinking wine, eating garden salads, and speaking quietly in the middle of a loud city. Both are true.
Ira Sachs, the film's director, has a deep understanding of New York City and paints it as a city filled with real people, a city that is not just a lot of flashing lights, and a city that can feel lonely despite the immense population. Little Men feels like the quintessential New York film, one that encapsulates real people affected by real drama rather than a film where a couple bros try to have the best night of their life in the big city.
Jake, a quiet young boy with a fondness for drawing, is befriended by the outgoing Tony, another tween with a fondness for acting. The two form a friendship that contrasts sharply with the increasingly poisonous relationship between their parents. Though the film mainly focuses on the friendship developed between Jake and Tony, I feel that Sachs' subject is the adult world and how complex life becomes as you age. After all, Jake and Tony's friendship is complicated by nothing and is strong solely because the two have simply taken a liking to each other. This is not the case between Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and Paulina Garcia.
The two boys, Theo Taplitz and Michael Barbieri, have such a strong chemistry with one another that their performances are incredibly investing. Taplitz has an awkward charm to him and Barbieri is simply fun to watch. Greg Kinnear delivers an excellent performance as Jake's dad who is struggling to make ends meet working as a performer. Tony's mother, played with a coldness by Paulina Garcia, is struggling with her dress shop. Business is slow and she's losing money. Kinnear's role is a complex one and it's beautifully performed. He's struggling with the grief of his father's passing, the tricky legal matters with Tony's mother, balancing a fruitless career, and raising his own sun.
But at a slim 85 minutes, Little Men seems almost primarily built on little moments. Everything there is to gain from this film is subtle. Rarely is there a crescendo of drama, where the film's rich emotions boil over. The film is only mildly affecting in that way. It's an entertaining little film, brimming with existential truths, but rarely do they come to some kind of fruition.
Little Men is a little film. A river of emotions flow through it, but only underneath the surface. The drama of the adults juxtaposed against that of the kids is something truly compelling, if not particularly original. But there's really a lot to like here. And it's not a bad idea to eat some garlic bread and pour yourself a glass of wine before hand.
FINAL GRADE: B
MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements, smoking and some language
I attended an early screening of this film as it closed the 2016 Maine International Film Festival. The programmer spoke about the film a bit before the viewing, citing it as a the perfect closing film that leaves an emotional impact but does not sink the viewer into a depression. My friend also described the film as a "garlic bread-y" movie because it's that kind of cozy film in which everyone is drinking wine, eating garden salads, and speaking quietly in the middle of a loud city. Both are true.
Ira Sachs, the film's director, has a deep understanding of New York City and paints it as a city filled with real people, a city that is not just a lot of flashing lights, and a city that can feel lonely despite the immense population. Little Men feels like the quintessential New York film, one that encapsulates real people affected by real drama rather than a film where a couple bros try to have the best night of their life in the big city.
Jake, a quiet young boy with a fondness for drawing, is befriended by the outgoing Tony, another tween with a fondness for acting. The two form a friendship that contrasts sharply with the increasingly poisonous relationship between their parents. Though the film mainly focuses on the friendship developed between Jake and Tony, I feel that Sachs' subject is the adult world and how complex life becomes as you age. After all, Jake and Tony's friendship is complicated by nothing and is strong solely because the two have simply taken a liking to each other. This is not the case between Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, and Paulina Garcia.
The two boys, Theo Taplitz and Michael Barbieri, have such a strong chemistry with one another that their performances are incredibly investing. Taplitz has an awkward charm to him and Barbieri is simply fun to watch. Greg Kinnear delivers an excellent performance as Jake's dad who is struggling to make ends meet working as a performer. Tony's mother, played with a coldness by Paulina Garcia, is struggling with her dress shop. Business is slow and she's losing money. Kinnear's role is a complex one and it's beautifully performed. He's struggling with the grief of his father's passing, the tricky legal matters with Tony's mother, balancing a fruitless career, and raising his own sun.
But at a slim 85 minutes, Little Men seems almost primarily built on little moments. Everything there is to gain from this film is subtle. Rarely is there a crescendo of drama, where the film's rich emotions boil over. The film is only mildly affecting in that way. It's an entertaining little film, brimming with existential truths, but rarely do they come to some kind of fruition.
Little Men is a little film. A river of emotions flow through it, but only underneath the surface. The drama of the adults juxtaposed against that of the kids is something truly compelling, if not particularly original. But there's really a lot to like here. And it's not a bad idea to eat some garlic bread and pour yourself a glass of wine before hand.
FINAL GRADE: B
MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements, smoking and some language