Other than not 'getting' the reference to the book the movie' gets its title from, this one's a pretty decent watch, of a family not quite together, and who does't quite keep it together, trying to deal with life as its dished out to them.
Perry plays the patriarch, and seems a misfit in the role (in this movie), since those under his care, his brother (Ben Foster), and his sister (Ginnifer Goodwin), turn out, not so normal, or, depending on one's viewpoint, as messed up as the rest of us, but weird in their acknowledgment of that without hypocrisy, in their adult lives.
Perry and his suburban challenges have already reached a head, when these 3 lives criss-cross once again, definitely heading toward a (portentously) dark denouement.
Lauren Graham has nothing much to do, except towards the end, and though her character doesn't have much of an arc, she acquits herself well. Swank has a bit of a thankless job in this one, and like other reviewers have mentioned, anyone could have performed in this role. She might have taken it up since this did not require her to do any heavy lifting, and that would have meant a welcome change from all the other heavy stuff she's been know to do. Seeing her in this supporting role sometime took me out of the movie, since its quite a distraction.
Perry the leading man can quite carry things off, and its strange that he hasn't done more roles, either in Indies or in the mainstream. Hopefully, that will change, since this is an example of him taking chances with the material he does, and could be known for. Foster's good as always, but needs to play characters who can lighten up a little bit - all the intensity might just be putting him in a typical mould, and that's not good for any actor who's capable of range.
Having said all that, this is a pretty decent watch for once, and is quite similar to various other movies having been made about dysfunctional families in the recent past, in a good way.
Perry plays the patriarch, and seems a misfit in the role (in this movie), since those under his care, his brother (Ben Foster), and his sister (Ginnifer Goodwin), turn out, not so normal, or, depending on one's viewpoint, as messed up as the rest of us, but weird in their acknowledgment of that without hypocrisy, in their adult lives.
Perry and his suburban challenges have already reached a head, when these 3 lives criss-cross once again, definitely heading toward a (portentously) dark denouement.
Lauren Graham has nothing much to do, except towards the end, and though her character doesn't have much of an arc, she acquits herself well. Swank has a bit of a thankless job in this one, and like other reviewers have mentioned, anyone could have performed in this role. She might have taken it up since this did not require her to do any heavy lifting, and that would have meant a welcome change from all the other heavy stuff she's been know to do. Seeing her in this supporting role sometime took me out of the movie, since its quite a distraction.
Perry the leading man can quite carry things off, and its strange that he hasn't done more roles, either in Indies or in the mainstream. Hopefully, that will change, since this is an example of him taking chances with the material he does, and could be known for. Foster's good as always, but needs to play characters who can lighten up a little bit - all the intensity might just be putting him in a typical mould, and that's not good for any actor who's capable of range.
Having said all that, this is a pretty decent watch for once, and is quite similar to various other movies having been made about dysfunctional families in the recent past, in a good way.