You Can Count on Me (2000)

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

 The one thing that stands out the most from this quiet drama is that its central relationship is a brother-sister relationship. When I saw this I realized that you just don't see that very often in art. You don't often see an honest brother-sister relationship be the central relationship in pop culture. When you see an honest real-life relationship expressed on film, it all becomes so much more captivating. Voyeurism is a big reason we watch movies, and when we see something that feels extremely real we get drawn in. On top of that, the writing, acting, and directing by all involved are top-notch. Each actor, Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo (and even the son) are amazingly honest in their roles and by the time one of the characters recites the title of the movie to another towards the end of the film, you are incredibly attached to these characters

The filmmaking on display is unobtrusive and realist. It's a movie that tries to feel honest above everything else. It's not a flashy drama, neither is it that ambitious either. The descriptions of the characters aren't too exciting: one is a single mom struggling with her personal life and the other is a struggling 20-something year old guy who's a bit of a free spirit, but it's Lonergan's writing and the great performances that make these people come to life in a way that is engaging, emotional, and tugs real hard on your heart strings. The theme of the movie is fairly simple (see the movies title for a hint), but it comes across powerfully. You don't get attached to characters like this in movies often, as opposed to TV characters, mostly due to lack of time in fleshing them out. But with this film, I reached the end of it feeling like these siblings were part of my own family.

Grade: A-