| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Stephan Bender | ... |
Nathan Davies
|
|
| Thomas Jay Ryan | ... |
Harland Davies
|
|
| Diana Scarwid | ... |
Vivian Davies
|
|
| Tom Gilroy | ... |
Preacher John
|
|
|
|
Maximillian Roeg | ... |
Roy
(as Max Roeg)
|
| Randy Wayne | ... |
Burke
|
|
|
|
Owen Beckman | ... |
Randy
|
| Rooney Mara | ... |
Evelyn
(as Tricia Mara)
|
|
|
|
Rickie Lee Jones | ... |
Roy's Mother
|
|
|
Nick Ericson | ... |
Brother Will
|
Shy and withdrawn, Nathan (played by Stephan Bender) is new to his school, unusually smart (a grade ahead) and the silent tension at home nearly unbearable. Mom, Dad, and Nathan have moved constantly, town after town, landing, inexplicably, in god-fearing "St. Francesville". Roy (played by the multi-talented Max Roeg), a year older than Nathan, confident and hard-working, drives the bus to their school while a friendship blooms between them into a relationship that is fraught with confusion and yearning. But secrets pick at the relationship, the unspoken rules of their angst-driven interactions unravel as Nathan's world again comes crashing inwards. Tension crescendos as shame and terror, stress and disaster all compete to immobilize and destroy both of their worlds. Written by Christopher Panoply
I was thoroughly enjoying this film, with its talented and attractive two leads, the evocative setting, and a decently realistic premise.
Then came the final act.
What happens in the ending is both poorly written and a waste of a potentially fantastic film. In a story that felt so natural and real, the entire third act comes seemingly out of nowhere in effort to force the characters into a specific type of ending. An ending which, though I would have preferred otherwise, could have been achieved much more organically with story pieces already in place (the father) instead of driving an underdeveloped secondary character into an unjustifiable decision, and forcing a main character to passively accept their fate with no fight.
Awful. Truly awful.