Customer Reviews

You Can Count on Me [VHS]

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Here are the most compelling reasons to buy this film, especially on DVD:

Words such as "masterpiece" and "genius" are incredibly overused these days, but I'm prepared to make the following statement: The screenplay is a masterpiece and Mark Ruffalo is a genius. (And Laura Linney, bless your soul, you are a damn fine actress.) Let me take a quick crack at supporting this statement, so that you can get on with the business of watching this movie instead of reading my review.

1. THE EDITING: Lonnergan's orginal screenplay chalked up 125 pages, which translates into roughly 125 minutes screen time. AFTER the final edit, Lonnergan RETYPED the screenplay (only a devoted writer and parent would do such a thing) and it yielded 95 pages. Now anyone who has written anything at all can tell you THIS IS SOME MAJOR CUTTING. And for the viewer it means a TIGHT, DIRECT, and WONDERFULLY VISUAL movie. To see what the hell I'm talking about, just check out the crash scene at the beginning of the film and specifically the moment when the policeman struggles to get a word out on the front porch. CUT!! You don't need to see anymore. Lonnergan trusts the audience to put the pieces together and the film moves on. It was at this very early point in the film when I saw it at the theater that I sensed the brilliance to come. And was not let down. You can probably find 20 moments where the scene ends EXACTLY WHERE IT NEEDS TO. (A comparable film in this respect is "Days of Heaven.")

2. BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS. That means complex characters. Characters who are not ALL GOOD or ALL BAD. Characters who behave in predictable and sometimes highly unpredictable ways, much like you and me.

3. SUPERB ACTING. You just don't see such nuanced performances like this every day. Watch Ruffalo carefully. Watch everything he does, even the way he listens to other characters. It's electrifying. His body language is a revelation and his delivery is perfect. I could watch him all day. The first three times I saw the film I was so enthralled by him I almost missed Laura Linney's performance. It is the equal of Ruffalo's.

4. THE SCREENPLAY. Everyone raves about the screenplay, so I've put this section near the end so you won't miss the other great qualities of this film. Lonnergan, I understand, wrote every single itty bitty word in the movie, including all the um and ahs. His appreciation for character is so deep, he KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THESE CHARACTERS WOULD SAY, AND HOW THEY WOULD SAY IT.

5. THE DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY. The beauty, the absolute beauty of DVDs, is that from time to time you get the director's commentary on the audio track. In this incredibly generous and down-to-earth commentary, Lonnergan drops gem after gem, telling us all manner of large and small things, from insights into the characters, the movie-making process, and the incredibly sappy and small-minded film industry itself, to pointing out which character is his real-life wife (!) and which scenes he had Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo direct!

Final analysis: A must-own DVD. Especially for budding actors, editors, and screenwriters.

This is the hardest review I'll ever write.

My mother recently committed suicide. My father died seven years ago of cancer. I'm 34 years old, and I am seen by my two sisters as the f-up brother. I can honestly say that I can totally relate to this film.

Laura Linney is dead-on as a sister who is trying to live a "normal" life; work at the bank, pick up the son in her SUV, and believe in God, about 15 years after the sudden tragic death of her parents. Her brother is immature, unreliable, can't hold a job, and smokes an awful lot of pot. She is the "caretaker" in the sibling relationship. But, as the film unveils, she certainly can't take care of herself. And the f-up brother isn't as worthless and stupid and selfish as he is supposed to be.

This is a real film about real people dealing with the extrodinarily frustrating and painful task of carrying on after a tragic family loss. And they go on. They continue, the best they can.

There is dysfunction and then there is dysfunction. Some of us know what a real dysfunctional family is. And we're not whiners. We're heroes. And this film is for us.

Often a film is an escape. It's fantasy with larger-than-life characters. Not so with this small gem. In "You Can Count on Me" we meet real people - people whose lives aren't perfect, whose dreams aren't fancy, and who make mistakes. Nominated for two academy awards in 2000, this can be called a story about relationships. But before you roll your eyes in boredom, thinking this might be too talky, and full of pat psychological answers to every question, just wait. Even if easy answers are not forthcoming, you'll get a chance to glimpse some characters that are so real they could be the neighbors next door or members of your own family.

The key relationship here is between a brother and a sister. Orphaned as children, they've grown up counting on each other. Now they are in their thirties. The sister, Laura Linney, is a single mother of an 8-year-old boy, played by Rory Culkin. She works in a bank in their hometown in Upstate New York, and has made arrangements with her boss to use part of her lunch hour time to pick up her child from school and bring him to a baby sitter. The brother, played by Mark Ruffalo, has left home years before. He's a drifter who always needs money, impulsive and boyish and loveable all at the same time. His young nephew adores him, especially when he takes him to a pool hall one night.

The sister has stuff to contend with. There's a new branch manager Matthew Broderick, where she works, the kind of idiot boss who forces the staff to refrain from using bright colors on their computer screens because it doesn't represent the dignity of a bank. There's her son wanting to know more about his real father than she wants to tell him. And there's a marriage proposal from her long-term boring boyfriend. The brother's arrival is a catalyst for turmoil. How it all plays out is real.

Kenneth Lonergan wrote, directed and even plays a small part of a minister. He's a master of understatement and accuracy of landscape as well as emotions. It's like he just stood back and let the characters drive the plot. It seems simple. It isn't. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo give performances so fine that they don't even seem to be performing. And young Rory Culkin is perfect as just a regular kid who craves a father figure. The story moves fast, holding my interest throughout. I felt I was right there with these characters and identified with them completely. Highly recommended for everybody. You'll smile wistfully afterwards and think, "yup - that's how life is."

A small movie set in a small town delivers various big elements including top-notch performances from its two leads, extremely effective character development all around and a poignant message dipped with the importance of love, family, relationships and spirituality. This is obviously not a typical Hollywood picture and surely not for everyone, but definitely one to see for anyone who appreciates superior character studies, feels confused, overwhelmed or bored about their own life, and is curious about the familial foundation which supports this entire movie. This isn't a very upbeat film. It does contain a handful of lighter moments, but is basically a movie that feels sort of somber all the way through but doesn't ever really get boring. The force of the writing is the main reason for that, with the superior performances set forth by all, straddling in as a close second. Major kudos go out to Mark Ruffalo, who completely inhabits his role as the loose younger brother with the knack for getting into trouble, as well as Laura Linney, playing the full role of mother, sister, lover and employee to a tee. The excellent rapport between the two leads also makes you glad to be spending some time with them

When a movie takes on the most ordinary, potentially mundane of situations and turns it into an experience that is nothing less than wholly enthralling, you know you're in the presence of one of the year's very best films. Kenneth Lonergan's 'You Can Count On Me,' which along with Spike Jonze's 'Being John Malkovich' may be the most impressive directorial debut I've ever seen, is that kind of a movie. It starts from the most limited resources imaginable, and by sheer virtue of its modesty proceeds to pull off the kind of miraculous, emotionally resonant storytelling that reduces Hollywood garbage like 'Stepmom' to shame.

Terry (Mark Ruffalo) and Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney) are a brother and sister who have shared a unique bond ever since their parents died in a car crash years ago. Sammy is now a single mother who works at a bank in a small New York town, while her brother has become something of a ne'er-do-well'a leech and a freewheeler who's constantly hitting his sister up for money. After a long absence, Terry comes home to visit'and that sets the film in motion.

There are no jarring plot twists, no unrealistic turns of character, no ridiculous leaps of logic to bring this scenario to a tidy resolution. 'You Can Count On Me' is too intelligent to treat these characters as anything less than human beings, and too honest to resort to the coy emotional pandering that passes for today's 'family' dramas. What the film does, with a display of patience and restraint that is almost stunning in its rarity, is sit back and observe these people interact. Blessed by Lonergan's uncanny ear for realistic, articulate dialogue (no cliched soundbytes or glib one-liners here), 'You Can Count On Me' plumbs such intimate depths of truth, humor and drama you feel positively grateful for being allowed to share in these people's lives.

That's due in no small part to the two central actors, who create a sibling relationship that's so painfully funny and real it has to be seen to be believed. Linney has had diabolical supporting roles in other films ('The Truman Show' and 'The House of Mirth'), but it took a small little movie like this to reveal the full expanse of her powers. Her acting is seamless, touching upon so many different nuances, and with such little effort, that it's easy to underestimate the consummate skill behind it. Make no mistake; this is one actress we will be seeing plenty more of, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Linney won a rackful of Oscars in the future to compensate for the one Julia Roberts stole from her. No less impressive are Ruffalo, whose performance drew comparisons to Brando--Brando, for heaven's sake--and Rory Culkin, as Sammy's son.

Watching Lonergan's film, I was reminded of Mike Leigh's masterpiece 'Secrets and Lies,' which similarly dealt with an entire spectrum of human emotions using the gentlest of approaches. Lonergan is a very different filmmaker, but just as sure-footed. One of his many masterstrokes is to withhold until the end the true meaning of the title, which at first glance might seem unnecessarily drippy. It isn't. Only in a final scene as poignant as it is understated do we fully understand the title's significance, and the full meaning of what Lonergan has imparted to us through this beautiful, bountiful film.

This powerful, fascinating film examines how two very different siblings cope with a single, life-changing tragedy, and how this event affects their own interactions. Written and directed by Lonergan (who also plays a priest), "Count" depicts this complex relationship with a nuanced mix of humor and heartbreak. Linney received an Oscar nod for her portrayal of Sammy, but it's Ruffalo's intense performance as the younger sibling that really stands out. "Count" is an uncommonly wise and human story about those family ties that bind us all.

It's a very ordinary movie. But yet, I found myself really enjoying it. And that may have been why I enjoyed it so much. BECAUSE it was ordinary.

The movie is about a brother and sister who are orphaned at a young age, Sammy and Terry. Years later, Terry comes back to the small town they grew up in and where Sammy still lives to ask her for money. A bond between Sammy's son and Terry is born and a rekindling between the brother and sister.

I was glad to be able to watch a movie where the characters were telling the story. I was also glad to watch a movie that focused on the brother-sister relationship because it's something not a lot of movies dwell in these days. I thought the writing and dialouge were fantastic, which is to be expected from talent Kenneth Lonergan (see the manuscript for "This Is Our Youth"). It felt so natural. There are a lot of golden moments and scenes (the bus stop, the lunch scene especially) worth noting.

But the highest point of this movie was the acting. Laura Linney was great. She was absolute perfect as Sammi. Matthew Broderick is also great. Rory Kulkin is without a doubt the Kulkin Kid that has a real future in Hollywood (if you listen to the director's commentary and hear the way Lonergan talks about Rory Kulkin, you get a genuine feeling that he takes acting incredibly seriously and to do that at a young age is phenomenal to me). But the actor that really stood out for me was Mark Ruffalo. He was amazing as the wayward brother, Terry. He has a very magnetic quality and I think it's due to the fact that you don't feel like you are watching Mark Ruffalo, the actor, but the character. He, along with everyone else, never over-acts. It's again ... natural.

And that's the element that appealed to me most. Everything is natural. And maybe to some natural is boring. But to me it was refreshing and heartfelt.

This is a tautly directed family drama with superlative performances by an outstanding ensemble cast. Laura Tinney gives a strong, well nuanced performance as Sammy, the put upon single parent of an eight year old boy. Jon Tenney gives a compelling portrayal as Tinney's stalwart, though dull, suitor. Matthew Broderick is terrific as Tinney's officious, insecure new boss with whom she ends up having a passionate affair. Mark Ruffalo gives an amazing performance as Sammy's sensitive, errant brother, Terry, who tosses a monkey wrench into his sister's seemingly well ordered life, throwing it into total chaos. Rory Culkin is wonderful as Tinney's quiet little boy, who believes his long missing father to be much more that he actually is.

The story takes place in a rural locale. The opening scene shows a car accident in which a man and a woman are killed. The next scene shows a law enforcement officer breaking the news of their deaths to a young girl who is babysitting her younger brother. The movie now goes forward in time. The brother, Terry, now grown, is returning home after a long sojourn away. Home is where Sammy, his sister, lives with her eight year old son. She lives in their childhood home. Sammy and Terry have their reunion, but it is not the one that they each dreamt of having.

What happens to them, when Terry comes home, is a rich tapestry of human emotions, which is deftly woven into a complex family drama. This character driven film is compelling, keeping the viewer fully absorbed, as the story unfolds. Well nuanced, memorable performances provide the icing on the cake. This movie was a veritable surprise and a most enjoyable one, at that.

Bach's first Cello Suite in G wafts through the scenes, and it really captures the meandering nature of the two characters. What is so ingenuous about this film is that here are two characters who seemingly walk different, divergent paths of life, yet are falling headlong in the same direction. The entire film can be seen as an aftermath of a terrible tragedy and how it affects people for the rest of their lives, but under Londergan's sure direction, the message never becomes trite, watered down soundbites of Freudian pathology. The performances are unilaterally wonderful, and Ruffalo especially is powerful as a smoked-out brother who cannot, and stubbornly will not find his place in the world. The sadness between the pauses is poignant, but the hope of the last couple sequences are spine-tingling. The film, by the way, takes the top prize for using the title as a meaningful part of the story, as it is the "punchline" that is left unsaid at the end of the film, the remembered pact between the brother and sister who love each other now as they have back then. Remarkable.

One of the most compelling events of the release of Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count On Me is that it gave visibility to Mark Ruffalo who plays a troubled young man who, unable to deal with the childhood trauma of having lost his parents to a car crash, lives of life of unattached agony and isolation. He's a loner and a drifter, medicating his self-pity with pot and short-lived relationships. His sister Sammy, played wonderfully by Laura Linney, reacts to the same tragedy by being, in many ways, an overresponsible overcontrolling super mom. Two opposite reactions to the same tragedy of course result in a sibling clash. This film shows with great complexity and biting comic insight, the attempt of this brother and sister to shed their defense mechanisms and most importantly reconnect with one another. The ride is never easy in this film. No easy answers are given. Just as important, this film, which deals with the pain of loss, never descends into the maudlin Hallmark movie sap that other films would. Balancing edgy humor and profound psychological insight, Lonergan has written and directed a tale that captures the layers upon layers of psychological complexity that accompany the trauma of loss. Amazingly, he does it in a fast-paced film with scenes that are by turns comic and dramatic. Matthew Broderick, for example, plays a hilarious role of Sammy's neurotic anal-retentive boss at the bank. The conflict between him and Sammy leads to a plot point that I'll let you discover in the film.

But most of all, this film shines because Mark Ruffalo plays such an endearing, sympathetic, sometimes infuriating character. You won't forget him.