YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000) / *** 1/2
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan, from his screenplay. Starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick. Running time: 100 minutes. Rated AA for coarse language by the MFCB. Reviewed on March 28th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Let's be honest: movies don't often deal with reality. Filmmakers tend to prefer high drama, incredulous farce, or invented fantasy, and while these genres can be effective and entertaining, their connection to our daily lives is often tenuous. In cinema, there's usually a beginning, a middle and an end, all punctuated by moments of great suspense and emotion. In real life, the highs aren't so high nor the lows so low, and there's nothing but middle.
"You Can Count On Me" is a film which is as close an approximation of reality -- real reality, not movie reality -- as I've seen. The story it tells is one which began before the theatre curtains went up, and which continues on past the credits. Those looking for a plot in which everything is ultimately wrapped up in a neat, tidy package will probably be somewhat disappointed; the movie has an ending, but it is not the ending. On the other hand, audiences desiring a genuine portrayal of real people with real problems should be very satisfied indeed.
Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney) is a loan officer in the small town of Scottsville, trying to raise young son Rudy (Rory Culkin) all by herself. Her parents died in a car accident when she was young, and this left her and her brother Terry to raise each other. Sammy had her wild phase but survived it. Terry, on the other hand, is a drifter who checks in with his sister only every few months and seems to be going nowhere in life.
One day, Terry (Mark Ruffalo) returns to Scottsville. He only plans to stay long enough to borrow money from Sammy, but ends up sticking around a while longer. Terry begins bonding with Rudy, who has never had a father figure -- he takes him to a bar to play pool, and lets him help out with the plumbing. This meets with the disapproval of Sammy, however, who is concerned that Terry -- never having properly grown up himself -- is a poor role model for her son. At the same time, straight-laced Sammy is experiencing turmoil of her own: not only is she involved in a dispassionate relationship with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Bob (Jon Tenney), but she starts an affair with her nerdy new (married) boss Brian (Matthew Broderick).
"You Can Count On Me" is written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, a filmmaker who clearly understands people. Beyond an opening flashback to the accident which claimed the lives of the elder Prescotts, cinematic artifice is all but absent from the movie. This is a simple story told in a simple style, which is nonetheless absolutely perfect. Lonergan's approach is to be direct and sincere, neither too harsh nor too tender, thereby lending his situations and the characters a stronger sense of realism. Nothing happens simply for dramatic purposes, and even the picture's warm humour arises naturally from the goings-on, as opposed to being artificially grafted onto the proceedings.
But this technique cannot be successful unless we believe in, and are engaged by, the main characters. Let's be honest again: more often than not, everyday life just isn't that interesting -- there's a reason why most movies don't follow this realistic approach. In the end, then, "You Can Count On Me" is an actors' movie. Without performances which are believable but still captivating, "You Can Count On Me" would be no more interesting than this morning's office gossip.
How fortunate we are, then, that Lonergan has assembled such a splendid cast. It is Linney who has received the most accolades, and for good reason -- quite frankly, it is Linney and not Julia Roberts who deserved the Academy Award. Sammy is a strikingly multifaceted character. On the one hand, she is a doting and responsible parent, straightlaced and dependable. On the other hand, she's emotionally confused, and in the space of the film's running time we see her involved in no less than two ill-advised and potentially disastrous romantic liaisons. Linney demonstrates tremendous range, but does so without losing sight of the character she's playing. Too often, actors translate their roles into just a handful of convenient default demeanours. Linney approaches Sammy as though she is a real person, complete with a dizzying array of emotions and responses; as a result, Sammy becomes real.
No less impressive is Ruffalo. Screw-ups and black sheep are a staple of the family drama, but Ruffalo ensures that Terry does not fall so easily into these categories. Terry is a man who makes mistakes. Sometimes he learns from them and sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he makes up for them and sometimes he doesn't. One thing he isn't is a man who behaves according to type. The complexity of the character is particularly evident in his interaction with Rudy: Terry is neither a godsend for the child nor a devil on his shoulder. Their relationship follows not a straight line but instead experiences any number of twists and turns, and is all the more satisfying because of it.
Also fine is Broderick as the nebbish Brian, a man who is never entirely loathsome (or else Sammy's affair with him would be tough to swallow), but who always finds a way to rub the audience wrong. And Culkin shows that, like older brother Kieran, he is capable of genuine acting and not just mawking for the camera. Rudy is not preternaturally intelligent nor laden with problems nor unbearably cute; he's just a regular kid unique in ways all his own, and there aren't enough of those in the movies.
By the end of the picture, both Terry and Sammy have changed. And while the implication is certainly that they have both benefitted from the sometimes tortuous renewal of their family bond, I liked the fact that Lonergan doesn't overemphasise this development. Both siblings still have lives that are full of questions and problems, and futures with plenty of uncertainties. Just like you, me, and everybody else.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/YouCanCountOnMe.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +----------------------------------+----------------------------------+ / Popcorn Gallery Movies Reviews www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html \ | Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) /drwho.html |
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