JUST LIKE THE SON (2007) - ***
FILM REVIEW BY GEORGE SCHMIDT
Daniel Carter (Mark Webber) is a young man on a path to nowhere fast who is trying the patience of the judicial system for his continuous streak of misdemeanors landing him thisclose to a for-real prison sentence and his father Bill (Bruce MacVittie) has lost his patience to the point that Daniel realizes he must move out and fulfill his 240 hours of assigned community service.
In the interim he stays with his best friend, Grant Bills (Brendan Sexton III) in his small apartment in Greenwich Village, where he can crash as he preps himself to face being a janitor in a public school where he is under the supervision of the principal, Mrs. Ponders (Rosie Perez), who is a no-nonsense type who sets the tone that if he doesn't do as he's supposed to there will be trouble.
One day she asks Daniel to watch over a class of young children as she awaits a substitute teacher to arrive. Daniel at first is supposed to simply stand guard outside the classroom but when he sees a small boy, who he met previously in the bathroom, being harassed, Daniel doesn't think or hesitate and enters the room, telling the kids to settle down and behave themselves. Momentarily Mrs. Ponders returns and at first admonishes Daniel for taking a large leap at responsibility, but then sees how he managed to put the class in order acquiesces by allowing him to read a book aloud to the children. Daniel seems to have found a new home and surprisingly enjoying the moment to the point that the sub even says he's welcome anytime to pop in and read to the kids.
Daniel begins to befriend the little boy, Boone (Antonio Ortiz), a seemingly happy, mulatto with a huge 'fro and a smile to with it. The two bond quickly even to the point of Boone informing Daniel that his mother is sick and he may have to return to foster care.
When Daniel discovers it the next day that Boone is not in school and Mrs. Ponders will not share the reasons why, he puts two and two together and decides to find the boy for himself.
What follows is a funny, heartfelt and joyful 'kidnapping' by Daniel after Grant obliges to drive him upstate to locate Boone first and the purpose he assumes to have in his lackadaisical life is in keeping the child for himself. The two forge a tight, loving relationship as they drive cross-country to find Boone's estranged older sister.
Filmmaker Morgan J. Freeman offers a throwback in a way to '70s era road trips and dysfunctional family films echoing Cassavettes, Bogdonavich and Spielberg but sure- handedly making the film his own with a breezy, carefree tone throughout with just the right amount of tension on the edges as one feels the dread of Daniel & Boone's odyssey of self- discovery to be yanked out from their footing. In the meantime it is a fun, endearingly lovely and at times poignant character study in depicting a young man who may never had the love he so desperately wants to give to another human being, someone who is not even his blood, to show how meaningful life can be, even when he has nothing to show for it.
Webber, an amiable sort perhaps best known as the 'is he or isn't he' long-lost son of Bill Murray in "Broken Flowers", proves to be a decent actor recalling traces of the aforementioned golden age's Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman and Richard Dreyfuss anti-heroic heroes; men who don't want to follow but to lead but just don't know how to do it properly. His Daniel may be impulsive but he is not stupid; he knows ultimately the price to pay in the long run which makes the trip all too bittersweet.
Newcomer Ortiz is a treasure; a real natural with no trace of precocity which is in itself a sigh of relief. He counterbalances his scenes with Webber nicely and more importantly, believably. An organic relationship at is basic core: unrequited love.
The clear-eyed cinematography by Yaron Orbach, rustic peaceful music by Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham and yeoman like editing by Sloane Klevin compliment the actors and director's vision. My only gripe is it goes too fast there could've been more character development (i.e. mostly in the fine assembled ensemble particularly Perez who is at best a glorified cameo). The film as a whole is a small gem that seems a fitting valentine to '70s films and as itself a unique look at what it means to be someone who tries to do the right thing when the reality is he already has.
FILM REVIEW BY GEORGE SCHMIDT
Daniel Carter (Mark Webber) is a young man on a path to nowhere fast who is trying the patience of the judicial system for his continuous streak of misdemeanors landing him thisclose to a for-real prison sentence and his father Bill (Bruce MacVittie) has lost his patience to the point that Daniel realizes he must move out and fulfill his 240 hours of assigned community service.
In the interim he stays with his best friend, Grant Bills (Brendan Sexton III) in his small apartment in Greenwich Village, where he can crash as he preps himself to face being a janitor in a public school where he is under the supervision of the principal, Mrs. Ponders (Rosie Perez), who is a no-nonsense type who sets the tone that if he doesn't do as he's supposed to there will be trouble.
One day she asks Daniel to watch over a class of young children as she awaits a substitute teacher to arrive. Daniel at first is supposed to simply stand guard outside the classroom but when he sees a small boy, who he met previously in the bathroom, being harassed, Daniel doesn't think or hesitate and enters the room, telling the kids to settle down and behave themselves. Momentarily Mrs. Ponders returns and at first admonishes Daniel for taking a large leap at responsibility, but then sees how he managed to put the class in order acquiesces by allowing him to read a book aloud to the children. Daniel seems to have found a new home and surprisingly enjoying the moment to the point that the sub even says he's welcome anytime to pop in and read to the kids.
Daniel begins to befriend the little boy, Boone (Antonio Ortiz), a seemingly happy, mulatto with a huge 'fro and a smile to with it. The two bond quickly even to the point of Boone informing Daniel that his mother is sick and he may have to return to foster care.
When Daniel discovers it the next day that Boone is not in school and Mrs. Ponders will not share the reasons why, he puts two and two together and decides to find the boy for himself.
What follows is a funny, heartfelt and joyful 'kidnapping' by Daniel after Grant obliges to drive him upstate to locate Boone first and the purpose he assumes to have in his lackadaisical life is in keeping the child for himself. The two forge a tight, loving relationship as they drive cross-country to find Boone's estranged older sister.
Filmmaker Morgan J. Freeman offers a throwback in a way to '70s era road trips and dysfunctional family films echoing Cassavettes, Bogdonavich and Spielberg but sure- handedly making the film his own with a breezy, carefree tone throughout with just the right amount of tension on the edges as one feels the dread of Daniel & Boone's odyssey of self- discovery to be yanked out from their footing. In the meantime it is a fun, endearingly lovely and at times poignant character study in depicting a young man who may never had the love he so desperately wants to give to another human being, someone who is not even his blood, to show how meaningful life can be, even when he has nothing to show for it.
Webber, an amiable sort perhaps best known as the 'is he or isn't he' long-lost son of Bill Murray in "Broken Flowers", proves to be a decent actor recalling traces of the aforementioned golden age's Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman and Richard Dreyfuss anti-heroic heroes; men who don't want to follow but to lead but just don't know how to do it properly. His Daniel may be impulsive but he is not stupid; he knows ultimately the price to pay in the long run which makes the trip all too bittersweet.
Newcomer Ortiz is a treasure; a real natural with no trace of precocity which is in itself a sigh of relief. He counterbalances his scenes with Webber nicely and more importantly, believably. An organic relationship at is basic core: unrequited love.
The clear-eyed cinematography by Yaron Orbach, rustic peaceful music by Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham and yeoman like editing by Sloane Klevin compliment the actors and director's vision. My only gripe is it goes too fast there could've been more character development (i.e. mostly in the fine assembled ensemble particularly Perez who is at best a glorified cameo). The film as a whole is a small gem that seems a fitting valentine to '70s films and as itself a unique look at what it means to be someone who tries to do the right thing when the reality is he already has.
