Never heard about this movie before and I don't remember how I stumbled on this one but I'm glad I did. For a drama Mobile Homes is certainly more entertaining than the average drama. Maybe because the story is about following "thrash" people, and by that I just mean not very smart and unfortunate since birth, with on top of that making wrong decisions after wrong decisions. It's always more entertaining to watch misery than happiness, that kind of voyeurism that makes us feel superior or just better. Imogen Poots did a really great job with her character, as well as the young Frank Oulton. The rest of the cast was also good. A movie with a gripping dark and hopeless story.
14 Reviews
Imogen Poots is great in this!
BandSAboutMovies9 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A mother and her 8-year-old son are drifting through life, following her boyfriend as they barely scrape out an existence one small crime at a time. But when she decides to finally leave him and live in a mobile home community, there's a chance their lives can change.
Imogen Poots is amazing in this movie, which I'd compare to Room. It starts with her character Ali trying to place her son Bone into a foster home and when that seems too difficult, she takes him with her as she conducts a life of crime with her boyfriend Evan. From teaching her son how to train roosters for cockfighting to stealing meals every time they eat, it's no life.
Anton Yelchin was supposed to star as Evan, but due to his tragic death, his Green Room co-star and friend Callum Turner respectfully took his place. He's really good in this as well.
There's no real direction to this, yet that feels like what their life is like. The ending, where she careens down a dangerous road towing the mobile home that should be their escape, is really powerful, though. It's some great filmmaking and the highlight of the film, other than the strong performances.
Director Vladimir de Fontenay filmed a short of this in his native France a few years ago and this movie is his chance to expand upon that film. It's definitely worth a watch, but if you've lived with this kind of craziness in your family, it may not be an easy one. As Robert, the laborer who allows them to stay in the mobile home park says, "What planet are you people from?"
Imogen Poots is amazing in this movie, which I'd compare to Room. It starts with her character Ali trying to place her son Bone into a foster home and when that seems too difficult, she takes him with her as she conducts a life of crime with her boyfriend Evan. From teaching her son how to train roosters for cockfighting to stealing meals every time they eat, it's no life.
Anton Yelchin was supposed to star as Evan, but due to his tragic death, his Green Room co-star and friend Callum Turner respectfully took his place. He's really good in this as well.
There's no real direction to this, yet that feels like what their life is like. The ending, where she careens down a dangerous road towing the mobile home that should be their escape, is really powerful, though. It's some great filmmaking and the highlight of the film, other than the strong performances.
Director Vladimir de Fontenay filmed a short of this in his native France a few years ago and this movie is his chance to expand upon that film. It's definitely worth a watch, but if you've lived with this kind of craziness in your family, it may not be an easy one. As Robert, the laborer who allows them to stay in the mobile home park says, "What planet are you people from?"
hard to care for the doomed couple
SnoopyStyle24 November 2018
Ali (Imogen Poots) and her son Bone live with her volatile boyfriend Evan drifting from place to place as they perform petty scams for money. They get into cock fighting and barely escape a police raid. She manages to run away from Evan with her son and hide in an empty mobile home.
The first part with the boyfriend is so muddled that it becomes flat. The narrative drive isn't there. It's in a faux docu-style filming until it gets to Callum Keith Rennie. It feels like the acting and the story is allowed to be unleashed at that point. The story still meanders around but without Evan, it is allowed room to breathe. This is not a movie with a destination. Of course, there is the inevitable reunion because the story has nowhere else to go. It's not that compelling to watch the destructive relationship between maddening Evan and the co-dependent Ali.
The first part with the boyfriend is so muddled that it becomes flat. The narrative drive isn't there. It's in a faux docu-style filming until it gets to Callum Keith Rennie. It feels like the acting and the story is allowed to be unleashed at that point. The story still meanders around but without Evan, it is allowed room to breathe. This is not a movie with a destination. Of course, there is the inevitable reunion because the story has nowhere else to go. It's not that compelling to watch the destructive relationship between maddening Evan and the co-dependent Ali.
I don't feel for the characters
Gordon-1121 July 2018
This film tells the story of a woman with a young son and a irresponsible boyfriend. They drift around because they have no money.
The story is slow, and it is not very engaging. They seem to leave a trail of destruction wherever they go, and I just cannot feel for the family. It is hard to feel sorry for the woman because she just can't change her ways, for example she even has to keep stealing little items from the guy who helps her.
The story is slow, and it is not very engaging. They seem to leave a trail of destruction wherever they go, and I just cannot feel for the family. It is hard to feel sorry for the woman because she just can't change her ways, for example she even has to keep stealing little items from the guy who helps her.
Decent but not great, unfortunately a common story
Tcarts7627 March 2020
Immogen Poots is a decent actress and a beautiful girl but here she has a character that jst isn't very likable.
The story itself is a cautionary tale but too bad no one is listening because it has been played before and and is a common one in real life. I have seen it play out in front of my eyes but when I saw it the SOB, worthless, abusive boyfriend was the 40 something year old guy with his own family business and the person that tried to help was the broke one with nothing. At least in that case the girl had an ex-husband that could take the kid.
I give it a six because the acting was not bad but the end was rdiculous and the main character herself is just not very likable at all. It's hard to watch a movie where you just want to scream, "You're a ridiculous human," the whole time unless you are watching "The View" which is unwatchable anyway.
The story itself is a cautionary tale but too bad no one is listening because it has been played before and and is a common one in real life. I have seen it play out in front of my eyes but when I saw it the SOB, worthless, abusive boyfriend was the 40 something year old guy with his own family business and the person that tried to help was the broke one with nothing. At least in that case the girl had an ex-husband that could take the kid.
I give it a six because the acting was not bad but the end was rdiculous and the main character herself is just not very likable at all. It's hard to watch a movie where you just want to scream, "You're a ridiculous human," the whole time unless you are watching "The View" which is unwatchable anyway.
It should have been a better movie
jaimegonzales21024 July 2019
I tried to like this movie, but so much of it is so contrived an unbelievable. The characters are not likeable, they make horrible life choices and seem intent on messing up anything in their life that may seem good or normal. I actually have known people in life who made horrible decisions and were in similar situations as the characters in this movie, they did things differently and for different reasons. But their horrible choice made a kind of sense, in this movie so much is nonsensical.
The ending is a disaster. I couldn't imagine a worse ending for this film. Sad and tragic should be the plotline, not the movie itself.
The ending is a disaster. I couldn't imagine a worse ending for this film. Sad and tragic should be the plotline, not the movie itself.
Ending not believable at all
rugle13 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Holmcindy- I don't believe Bone her son, ever got on the bus; if you remember, the policeman, when he brought Bone, to the door of the bus, he told him that the driver would watch him and make sure he got home. I think that as soon as the policeman, turned away, thinking he had done his job, the kid bolted back to his mother.
What a defeated ending, to this film. I thougt the mother was going to do the right thing, by turning over her child to the police and surrendering to the authorities.
The bus ticket was to take Bone home. Where was that; nothing was ever revealed, in the movie. I know Bob seemed to be a decent guy, by helping mother and son, but the last we see of him is chasing Ali and Bone in a high speed chase, down the winding back roads, pulling the mobil home. She seems to lose him, in the chase, before she loses control, of the truck; and skids into the lake, where it is submerged. Does he just give up with the loss of the truck and the multi-thousands worth mobil home and truck? Does she not get caught and pay for her crimes? This movie was believable; up until this point.
Gut-wrenching emotion
knvixen15 October 2019
I won't give anything away. The mother and son are both portrayed by extraordinary actors. Opinions seem polarised regarding the story; if you can't relate then - hey, lucky you! Anyone with any similar experience will find this gut-wrenching, but ultimately uplifting. Reading other reviews I wonder why some pepole watch anything other than shiny happy family films.
A Great Indy Style Film
johnnydicksonjr24 December 2019
Imogen Poots plays a young , poor, submissive mother who gets influenced by her selfish and abusive boyfriend. He uses her and her son to make a buck regardless of morals. If you don't get this low dialog film it may be that you have not lived or seen people living on the lower edge of society. It's gritty & the relationships are edgey & raw. A good watch.
Mobile Homes - Seeking home in the heart of freedom and abandonment
peggypunks27 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I had the luck to watch "Mobile Homes" at the Athens International Film Festival tonight,and what an amazing chance that was. This film is a documentation of almost every aspect of humanly experience and angst, based on the one of the most fundamental ones: the search for a home. The main characters, a young mother and her son, fought against themselves to realize what a home actually is. Every time they came close to an answer, they would meet the perplexity of themselves and would find a way to run away, until they would be found in the same place again.
I did not want to write a review based on the scenes, or how the plot evolves, or how the characters move during the film. I couldn't wait to get home so that I could make a mere effort to write down everything I felt and feared and waited and longed for along with the characters. The director, Vladimir de Fontenay, got us hooked (I could feel the whole cinema room vibrating) with his incredible ability to comprehend and portray the antithesis between danger and that homely feeling, between being tired and getting some rest in a motherly hug, between abandonment and that risk to reproach the one who abandons, between familiarity and cold and foreign spaces and neighborhoods and homes. I could find my self identifying with situations I have never been to, getting upset with faces I have never met and will never meet and caring so much about characters that were fictional. And I think that constitutes a great film: the intimacy it can build so that one can bring the characters into life, into one's own life.
The director, in a Q & A after the film, claimed that he likes to write about worlds that are unknown to him, claiming that he can better connect to unfamiliarity this way. I feel like he managed to create a film that had us all connected into that same space, where we all are children of a mother, longing for familiarity and warmth, watching our bodies being created as they are shaped through painful and rigid realities.
If you too long for a home of your own, or even if you want to take a glimpse of what that search takes, this film is a must watch. It's true, simple in its brilliant portrayal of family, moving, it gets you angry and upset but also protective and strong. You feel all the feelings and look for all the lookings.
10/10
p.s Mr Vladimir de Fontenay (the director) was so down to earth and spoke so beautifully, truly devoted his time to express what he felt and thought to his audience. Beautiful minds equal beautiful films.
I did not want to write a review based on the scenes, or how the plot evolves, or how the characters move during the film. I couldn't wait to get home so that I could make a mere effort to write down everything I felt and feared and waited and longed for along with the characters. The director, Vladimir de Fontenay, got us hooked (I could feel the whole cinema room vibrating) with his incredible ability to comprehend and portray the antithesis between danger and that homely feeling, between being tired and getting some rest in a motherly hug, between abandonment and that risk to reproach the one who abandons, between familiarity and cold and foreign spaces and neighborhoods and homes. I could find my self identifying with situations I have never been to, getting upset with faces I have never met and will never meet and caring so much about characters that were fictional. And I think that constitutes a great film: the intimacy it can build so that one can bring the characters into life, into one's own life.
The director, in a Q & A after the film, claimed that he likes to write about worlds that are unknown to him, claiming that he can better connect to unfamiliarity this way. I feel like he managed to create a film that had us all connected into that same space, where we all are children of a mother, longing for familiarity and warmth, watching our bodies being created as they are shaped through painful and rigid realities.
If you too long for a home of your own, or even if you want to take a glimpse of what that search takes, this film is a must watch. It's true, simple in its brilliant portrayal of family, moving, it gets you angry and upset but also protective and strong. You feel all the feelings and look for all the lookings.
10/10
p.s Mr Vladimir de Fontenay (the director) was so down to earth and spoke so beautifully, truly devoted his time to express what he felt and thought to his audience. Beautiful minds equal beautiful films.
Can someone actually change?
ccorral41911 January 2018
Can someone actually change their life? That is the question Director/Writer Vladimir de Fontenay (primarily a Short's director) poses in this gritty yet heart-wrenching look at wayward mother (Imogen Poots "That Awarkard Moment" 2014), her abusive and demanding boyfriend Evan (Callum Turner "The Only Boy Living in New York" 2017) - a role originally slated for Anton Yelchin before his death, her young impressionable son ( new comer Frank Oulton) and mobile home builder/seller Robert (Callum Keith Rennie "Californication "). What de Fontenay and cinematographer Benoit Soler do right here is place the audience directly in the seat of the actors, enable us to live their chaotic lifestyle and experience their cold Canada environment. Along with de Fontenay's terrific realistic direction, across the board the actors make the audience despise who they are and what they are doing, yet equally make the viewer wish them better life choices. Young Outlon and Keith Rennie stand out here because they are so contradictory to what the stories premise. Thus, they keep the audience glued to the screen and their characters. "Mobile Homes" is an indie film that probably won't make it to the big screen. However, you should find it in other formats. This film was screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival #PSIFF2018
Beautiful and Tragic
chas43714 April 2021
This is a very well crafted film with compelling performances all the way around. Imogen is once again outstanding.
We see a single mother, her 8 year old son and her criminal boyfriend in a random and aimless series of scams and hustles. The mother found her way here by a series of terrible life choices that are just beginning to have dire consequences for her son who has reached the age for first grade. Her relationship with her boyfriend is simply toxic. He has started to involve the child in his criminal endeavors.
The film begs the question, can she turn her and her son's lives around when presented with a good opportunity? Its easy to judge these characters harshly, especially the mother. If that's all one gets from this then one is missing a lot.
We see a single mother, her 8 year old son and her criminal boyfriend in a random and aimless series of scams and hustles. The mother found her way here by a series of terrible life choices that are just beginning to have dire consequences for her son who has reached the age for first grade. Her relationship with her boyfriend is simply toxic. He has started to involve the child in his criminal endeavors.
The film begs the question, can she turn her and her son's lives around when presented with a good opportunity? Its easy to judge these characters harshly, especially the mother. If that's all one gets from this then one is missing a lot.
A heartfelt and intimate character study.
becky-9234630 August 2022
Mobile Homes (2017) follows a mother and her young son as they drift between motels with the mother's toxic boyfriend. This was a beautiful and heartfelt film with great meaning. The cast did an amazing job, and the film was so visually stunning! This film felt like The Florida Project (2017) meets Nomadland (2020).
Firstly, the cinematography was beautiful and not overwhelming, and the visuals in general were pleasing to the eye. There were a lot of pretty colours and I especially liked the pale blue shots, also the lighting was calm and relaxing. In addition, I liked the framing too. The setting for the film was pretty and a good fit!
The sound was fairly good, I wasn't too fussed about the score but it definitely wasn't bad and it fit the mood well. However, I was genuinely very impressed with the sound design as there was a lot of attention to detail and a lot of effort had gone into it.
The characters felt so real, and all the acting was impressive and brilliant. This film was an intimate character study of a flawed yet relatable protagonist that was easy to root for. Imogen Poots really gave her best performance in Mobile Homes (2017). The mother-son relationship was beautiful and both actors had a lot of chemistry. I'd also like to mention the costuming, which I really liked too.
The film as a whole wasn't consistently engaging, but I still believe it succeeded as a slow-burn. The pacing was very steady and it was packed full of emotional moments. The ending was a nice close to the film and brought me to tears!
Firstly, the cinematography was beautiful and not overwhelming, and the visuals in general were pleasing to the eye. There were a lot of pretty colours and I especially liked the pale blue shots, also the lighting was calm and relaxing. In addition, I liked the framing too. The setting for the film was pretty and a good fit!
The sound was fairly good, I wasn't too fussed about the score but it definitely wasn't bad and it fit the mood well. However, I was genuinely very impressed with the sound design as there was a lot of attention to detail and a lot of effort had gone into it.
The characters felt so real, and all the acting was impressive and brilliant. This film was an intimate character study of a flawed yet relatable protagonist that was easy to root for. Imogen Poots really gave her best performance in Mobile Homes (2017). The mother-son relationship was beautiful and both actors had a lot of chemistry. I'd also like to mention the costuming, which I really liked too.
The film as a whole wasn't consistently engaging, but I still believe it succeeded as a slow-burn. The pacing was very steady and it was packed full of emotional moments. The ending was a nice close to the film and brought me to tears!
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