directed by Mark Raso
It’s a very good film about relations. Not only between people, but also between us and things. It’s about the value we assign to everything around us. Perhaps the script won’t surprise you much, because it’s a typical father-son story where the father was absent and they try to catch up on the lost years. This time the son is Matt (Jason Sudeikis) who works for a big record label. He’s a bit worried because their last important client signed a contract with another label, which means Matt may lose his job. And to make it even more dramatic, he bumps into Zooey (Elizabeth Olsen) who turns up to be his father’s nurse. She tells Matt that Ben (Ed Harris) is in a very bad shape and he’s going to die soon. Despite the fact that those two men haven’t spoken to each other for a long time, the father asks his son to drive him to Dwayne’s Photo, which is in Kansas. Which is super far away. Why? Because Ben still has some undeveloped rolls and that is the only place that accepts Kodachrome. Although they need to hurry up, because Kodak is soon to stop producing the specific dyes. Aaaand Ben is also soon to die. Obviously, Matt is no longer a child and he’s too angry with his father to agree to this idea. However, Ben promises him that in exchange for driving to Kansas, Matt will have a chance to meet with the Spare Sevens, which is a band that Matt’s label would like to sign with. Well, as you may be guessing, they go to Kansas. And as long as the story is predictable, this film should be appreciated more, in my opinion. First of all, both gentlemen did an amazing acting job. They didn’t try too hard to show their emotions and in a very natural way they created a beautiful, full of anger and slightly destructive relationship between each other. Besides, I loved the camerawork. Mamma mia! It was spectacular. They told some parts of the story without words, which isn’t that often in modern cinema. We like to talk too much nowadays. Perhaps it will be a small spoiler, but I guess you already know that Ben dies at some point. Rather clear since he’s terminally ill. So the scene where Matt finds out about Ben’s death is one of the best and powerful scenes I’ve seen this year. I mean it. Anyway, despite all this drama, it’s also a comedy, so expect a lot of ironic lines, especially from Ed Harris.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 