Madeleine Longtin From the start, it was evident that Being Flynn was trying to achieve a certain status - it wanted to be a compelling drama highlighting the lives of a father and his son, both struggling with different aspects of their lives. However, it fell short in more ways than one.The cast was brilliant as Robert de Niro and Paul Dano were both dedicated to their roles and gave their best effort. Unfortunately, the characters were difficult to relate to as they continued to make poor decisions without any clear reason as to why they were making those choices. This made them both unlikeable and therefore I began to lose interest rather early on in the outcome of their situation.In addition, the plot left me feeling entirely unsatisfied. The development of the story was quite slow and I can't indicate any particular moment that served as a clear turning point. It was as if the viewer was only seeing glimpses but was never provided with the entire picture. Very frustrating indeed.I have no temptation to see this film in the future nor would I recommend it to others. Unless of course you are a die-hard Robert de Niro fan who is able to look past the weak plot in order to appreciate his acting.

David This follows the unexpected reunion between an irresponsible conniving father, and his son who he's been totally estranged from for 18 years. The only reason he tracks his son down at all is for help vacating his apartment which the son obliges him with, telling you something about both of them. The son is emotionally scarred by the absence of his father and the cruel circumstances of his mother's suicide. Perhaps against his better judgement he reaches out to his father but is not surprisingly burned in the process. It becomes about the boy's battle with his demons, decoupling himself from his father's curse, and reclaiming his life.It's painful to watch the boy struggling with the urge to cling to the life buoy his father represents, but holding himself back because of his residual anger at his father's absence and negligence. If he handles the situation wrong he could end up going down with a sinking ship.You get an idea of what it's like going from living in an apartment to living on the street - not something I recall seeing on the big screen before, so worth watching for that alone. Really refreshing to see De Niro trying to act again after some of the vapid paydays he's been churning out over the last decade or so. I thought he'd totally run out of steam but clearly there's a bit left in the tank. He does a great job here anyway. Quite believable as the complex narcissistic rogue.Paul Dano turns in a decent performance but wouldn't have been my choice for the role. I think he may be a good actor some day but he's not there yet IMO. It all seems too deliberate and affected. Julianne Moore and Olivia Thirlby are pretty good in support.The film has an honest and believable quality about it; just lets the story tell itself without trying to be too sophisticated. There's no OTT horrific cold turkey scenes, no explicit sex scenes, no gratuitous violence. All pretty mundane and believable stuff, which worked well here I thought.All in all this is a superior father/son tale told simply. Definitely worth a watch.

Bene Cumb This intense drama - based on a true story - deserves much more attention and praise it has received until today. Of course, the background is painful and ugly - homeless shelter and related places are not nice and customary places of action - but extreme places usually boost people's good and bad habits and attitudes. The plot is logical, reasoning and depravities have been smoothly incorporated; the ending is interesting as well.Robert De Niro gives one of his strongest performances of the decade, having a different part than he is usually known for. Paul Dano is no "weakling" either: he is definitely among the best 20+ movie actors - and even without having "cute" appearance! If you have not seen movies with Dano, it is time to begin now - with L.I.E., for example. Flying Flynn is no entertainment and hardly recommendable as a family movie, but it must be a strong experience for groups of like-minded.

bdgill12 Like many men of his generation, Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) is defined by his relationship, or lack thereof, with his father, Jonathan (Robert De Niro). Jonathan is a racist, a homophobe, and a drunk and he abandoned Nick and his mother (Julianne Moore) when Nick was only a small boy, communicating with his son only through letters. The only bonds these two share are blood and a preoccupation with writing. But despite his disgust for the man, Nick never can quite shake the need to live up to his father's image, even if that image is completely fabricated. After nearly twenty years of silence, Jonathan reaches out to Nick in need of a favor and almost out of curiosity more than anything else, Nick lends a hand and suddenly finds himself interacting with a man he both hardly knows and knows all too well. Before long, Jonathan has been forced to take up residence in the homeless in which Nick works, forcing the younger Flynn to take a long and painful trip down the path to internal peace with both his father and himself.Being Flynn is based on the memoir of the real-life Nick Flynn, who worked as a social worker in a Boston homeless shelter in the late '80s where he ended up under the same roof as his father. The tale of the Flynns is a complex one to say the least and it is presented here in a style that pulls no punches. Indeed, Being Flynn is much more difficult to watch that I expected going in. Jonathan Flynn is, for lack of a better, family-friendly term, a miserable old coot, a holdover from a different time who has never adjusted to the world around him. On top of his vocal racism and homophobia, he is thoroughly arrogant in the worst way possible: he's never accomplished anything with his life and yet he expects others to treat him as if he has. In Jonathan's mind, there have only been three great American writers and he is one of them, despite never having had a work published. Worse yet, a life of poor choices and weighty entitlement have only aided in the speed with which his brain is deteriorating, leading Jonathan to lash out violently in both word and action. In short, he is an impossible character to love and even to feel pity for him proves difficult. In the midst of this stands Nick, torn between the childhood need for a father and the adult reason that tells him to kick the man to the curb. He simultaneously hates his father and desires his approval. This dynamic creates a tense, painful atmosphere that made it a challenge for me to sit still without squirming. To be honest with you, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.On the one hand, it could be argued that director Paul Weitz's goal is to stick the viewer squarely in the middle of the awkward and terse central relationship and force the audience to engage. In this way, Being Flynn is a great success. But on the other hand, being this close to the fray, so to speak, also forces the viewer to react to Jonathan in a personal nature. For me, this led to the overwhelming feeling that Jonathan would deserve whatever fate befell him and stripped me of any emotional attachment I might have had to his plight. Being Flynn should be relatable to anyone who has ever struggled with his or her relationship with a parent but instead I found myself sympathizing some for Nick and feeling nothing beyond "good riddance" for Jonathan.That's a shame, too, because this is without question the most significant role De Niro has taken on in well over a decade. This might be his best performance since 1996's Sleepers and it is a fantastic, hopeful sight to see him go back to something worthwhile. Despite nearly 15 years of utter mediocrity, I am still of the opinion that when given a reason to invest, De Niro is one of the five best actors in the industry, only he keeps taking awful role after awful role. He does an excellent job of fully committing to Jonathan, creating a memorable character, even if it is memorable for being a wretched human. Likewise, Dano is very good in his role and brings a lot of realism to the part. In the hands of another director (not necessarily better hands, just different), Being Flynn might have turned into a showcase piece for Dano, for which I could see a world in which he would garner award attention. As it is, however, De Niro overshadows him and perhaps this keeps Dano (and Nick) from reaching his full potential. Being Flynn is an interesting film and one that is almost as tough to grade as it is to watch. At times it makes a push to point itself toward "great" but more often than not I felt it floundered despite the best efforts of cast and crew. Please see my reviews at thesoapboxoffice.com