Characters were underdeveloped, the climactic point wasn't developed enough either. It just left me hanging at the end. If the movie had been given more time, it could have been truly excellent, but there were too many characters who had conflicts/things to settle with the main character, Pearl. These never got resolved at the end. At the end I was thinking, "What about the struggle with this person? The issue this person has?" Well, you don't get to know what happens to them. So although the movie could have been great, there was about a half hour or more that seems to have been cut off at the end. The movie does draw an important point: Americans are greatly spoiled, and Pearl was a great example of this. Maybe the writer was thinking in that same spoiled mind frame, not taking to account what happens to the other characters. Hence, I give it five stars for some good parts, but really that made it all the more disappointing when a couple of main characters/issues were, for lack of better wording, just thrown out the window.
15 Reviews
Waste of time
nkalisvaart3 February 2021
Boring - Simplistic
jessejxa30 May 2021
Unwatchable.
andyofne-7581315 May 2021
Bad acting
hadelec13 May 2021
More like a scummy rock than a pearl
PacmanKO886 June 2021
Anthony LaPaglia was solid throughout, that's the only real positive I have here. Otherwise, this movie, with so much potential for emotion in its subject matter, seriously lacked a punch. I love indies and finding hidden gems but this was very amateurish in execution and dialogue, and failed to move me emotionally. Skip this one.
A TALE FOR OUR TIMES
tony-925-78718915 August 2020
A startling beginning brings two characters together in a smart sensitive story of alienation and love.Director,writer Bobby Roth knows about grief and violence,but he doesn't push this in your face.Rather he puts Pearl, the young girl of the story,in the care of a self loathing drunk.
Sparks fly when they meet,but the two actors -Larsen Thompson and Anthony Lapaglia , as her unwilling carer, circle each other, tentatively and we dont know what to expect. The skill of the writing and the performances, leads us to some unusual places, but slowly we begin to care about these people in a surprising way.
This is not a daytime melodrama or thriller, but a subtle,enjoyable tale of kindness .
Lead actress can not act
random-7077814 October 2021
Wow. The acting in this is so bad it is cringeworthy throughout.
Hint to filmmakers: Let models be models, but do not cast people with zero talent at acting for acting jobs.
BTW, the positive reviews here are from single use accounts. That is shilly.
Hint to filmmakers: Let models be models, but do not cast people with zero talent at acting for acting jobs.
BTW, the positive reviews here are from single use accounts. That is shilly.
Incompetent
Chrimle18 August 2020
The movie never really kicked into gear, as the entire story is quite dull. The characters were initially not introduced beyond the surface and as the movie progressed there were some attempts to further develop these characters. Alas, this did not only take way too long, but were underwhelming flat. The acting was so plain - the characters never shed a tear... Also, can they not at least try to look like they are playing the piano?
The cinematography was incompetent, as the camera crew could be seen throughout the movie. The directing was odd too, with constant flashbacks repeatedly interrupting the flow of the movie - even though it was an attempt to convey a characters emotions.
The movie tried time and time again to introduce a new conflict to not lose interest in the script - and it was a failure every single time, since they never influenced the story or the characters in anyway...
The ending was a letdown, and not because of the ending, but the build up. A simple run-through of the script and it would be too apparent that the movie focused on the wrong relationship between the characters...
The cinematography was incompetent, as the camera crew could be seen throughout the movie. The directing was odd too, with constant flashbacks repeatedly interrupting the flow of the movie - even though it was an attempt to convey a characters emotions.
The movie tried time and time again to introduce a new conflict to not lose interest in the script - and it was a failure every single time, since they never influenced the story or the characters in anyway...
The ending was a letdown, and not because of the ending, but the build up. A simple run-through of the script and it would be too apparent that the movie focused on the wrong relationship between the characters...
Poetry in Motion
richardrossner19 August 2020
My husband and I watched Pearl the other night and found it beautiful to watch, even though the subject matter was darker than I expected. The first thought we had after watching the film was .... "poetry in motion." There was a touch of metaphysics in a graveyard scene near the end that brought in a few tears, along with a skosh of the spiritual and the unknown knowingness that there is a thread in life that is unseen, but often felt. Moments at those intersections help to recalibrate difficult, sometimes untenable emotions. We thought the director did a damn good job of dealing with trauma and tragedy in a unique way. We enjoy films that encourage us to look between the lines at what isn't being said.... Pearl did that for us. The light hand of music placed thoughtfully throughout was a beautiful choice. And Patti Scialfa's voice is angelic. We're embarrassed to say we had never heard its stand alone unique beauty before. The music and the lyrics touched us deeply. Good performances from the cast. Solid direction from the director.
Bobby Roth directed
sjanders-864309 June 2021
Larsen Thimpson and Anthony LaPaglia srar in this interesting drama. Thompson's mother is shot by her step father. Her mother gave a letter to her lawyer friend, and he gave it to LaPaglia. The letter states that LaPaglia is Thompson's father. She moves in with him. She goes to public school and meets Melissa Macedo who is a smart tough girl. As the story develops Macedo realizes she cannot befriend Thompson, because their worlds are too different. Thompson has a one night stand and gets pregnant. LaPaglia and Thompson bond at the grave of her mother and his unforgotton love. Is she his biological daughter? It ends with not knowing what happened with the pregnancy and the dna test. This makes the entire plot filled with no answers. Why did the step father kill her mother? Why didn't her friends stick with her? Why is LaPaglia a pariah? Why would Macedo dump her? This is very unsatisfying and frustrating, because the storyline had great potential which wasn't developed.
That Ride
davidjmcglade14 August 2020
Not only does this film have a great cast but, it has something for everyone. I don't know all of the cast, but what I do know is that I was captured by each character, and what that actor brought to the table for them.
It really touched me, and even more so knowing that this story is shaped around a real story close to the director. It faces the reality of loss, love and understanding, as well as how we all deal with those things in our own way.
Really well done. Some of these scenes really gripped my heart and wouldn't let go. Thank you for this ride, I would pay to take it again.
It really touched me, and even more so knowing that this story is shaped around a real story close to the director. It faces the reality of loss, love and understanding, as well as how we all deal with those things in our own way.
Really well done. Some of these scenes really gripped my heart and wouldn't let go. Thank you for this ride, I would pay to take it again.
A Meaningful Look At Profound Loss
ilvlftuup28 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I appreciate this movie on several levels. I have never thought that stories about loss and grief needed to be "big Hollywood", but experiential. & substantive. I personally relate to the story, because over the last year, I lost both of my parents - which was what actually drew me to this movie.
It was great to see Anthony LaPaglia in this role, portraying someone in the thick of their own personal crisis, then shifting gears to something completely unexpected. His chemistry with Thompson was good, though some of the story & conversation was inorganic in a few places.
For example, there is a scene where Thompson overreacts for seemingly no reason, and she lashes out and pushes LaPaglia like she wants to start a fight with him. I actually went back and watched the scene again trying to figure out what was the catalyst for that overreaction, and I still feel it's unexplained.
Another unexplained part of the story is the sudden end of Thompson's & Macedo's friendship - an inorganic, and unfortunate end to that storyline.
There are a few things left unexplained in the plot, but it seems like at the end of the movie that it's OK that those things were unexplained.
I suspect that this film had a very limited budget and a short window to film it - a little more time and money could have rounded out this film in a way that it really deserved. That's part of the beauty of independent films.
Even so, I feel this film deserves nine stars, as it does address grief and loss in a meaningful way, as people with different struggles try to find a way forward.
If you are reading the reviews about this film before deciding to watch it, just go ahead and watch it and pay no attention to the naysayers.
It was great to see Anthony LaPaglia in this role, portraying someone in the thick of their own personal crisis, then shifting gears to something completely unexpected. His chemistry with Thompson was good, though some of the story & conversation was inorganic in a few places.
For example, there is a scene where Thompson overreacts for seemingly no reason, and she lashes out and pushes LaPaglia like she wants to start a fight with him. I actually went back and watched the scene again trying to figure out what was the catalyst for that overreaction, and I still feel it's unexplained.
Another unexplained part of the story is the sudden end of Thompson's & Macedo's friendship - an inorganic, and unfortunate end to that storyline.
There are a few things left unexplained in the plot, but it seems like at the end of the movie that it's OK that those things were unexplained.
I suspect that this film had a very limited budget and a short window to film it - a little more time and money could have rounded out this film in a way that it really deserved. That's part of the beauty of independent films.
Even so, I feel this film deserves nine stars, as it does address grief and loss in a meaningful way, as people with different struggles try to find a way forward.
If you are reading the reviews about this film before deciding to watch it, just go ahead and watch it and pay no attention to the naysayers.
The Best New Drama I've seen this year
rothbobby21 August 2020
A father's love.
johnkuzmech22 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I can't believe the negative reviews. Here is a man, who wanted to marry but his girlfriend didn't. He lives his life loveless and alone, never finding a true love or true purpose in life and contemplating suicide. Seventeen years later, a letter from his former lover surfaces claiming that he has a daughter. Here is a man who question whether he could have been a father and it is obvous that he doesn' t want nor believe that is the father nor believes that he could ever be a good father.
We follow his interactions with his questionable daughter and see him grow into a deeply caring and supportive father who most men would not achieve. His deepest love surfaces at the end and leaves a real "good feeling" in the audience. Kind of a "What Would Jesus Do" ending.
We follow his interactions with his questionable daughter and see him grow into a deeply caring and supportive father who most men would not achieve. His deepest love surfaces at the end and leaves a real "good feeling" in the audience. Kind of a "What Would Jesus Do" ending.
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