Paul Dano was 16 when he started his career as a film actor. This is his first directorial effort, which interestingly revolves around a 14 year old boy. Ed Oxenbould mostly maintains a poker face, while he watches his parents’ marriage disintegrate. As his father, Jake Gyllenhall handles the affection and anger well, but it’s Carey Mulligan’s mother who gets to go off the rails in seemingly unrealistic directions. This is more a character study than an involving drama. Watching it develop (or crumble) keeps it from being boring, but the slow-going script and the son’s subdued reactions never build to a fulfilling outcome. The restrained art direction nicely captures the early ’60s period.
(3 / 5)