Fiona van Houten
Personally, I find this a great movie because it's touching and the combination of the characters and how they treat each other is well done. There is also good humor in it so that gave me some nice moments too. We have Albert Burroughs, an autistic man, who won lots of prizes for fishing because of a talent and he lives with his mother. His father is around him while not knowing that this man is his father. The movie is set in winter time.Unfortunately, there are people who gets after the money of Albert. These people are very different from each other and they lie to Albert to get what they want. How one of them develop gave me a special feeling because it shows that not all people that does bad things are really bad. Some will change their ways of thinking and will feel affection.I recommend this movie for people who like to see movies about autistic persons, who like to see the lovely actress Alison Folland in one of her big roles or who just wanna see a movie with an intelligent script and a good story!
tresdodge
A mentally deficient man ,who has a knack for winning money at fish catching competitions, is left to fend for himself after his mother is run down and murdered. Fragile, innocent and alone he is targeted by crooks hell bent on taking some of his money.A very well shot and acted film, I was surprised at how accomplished the main lead actor(Troy Garrity)was in portraying the character of Albert. The other actors played their parts well and the technical aspects were done well with the cinematography exceptionally good. However,at times the movie was very slow and caused me to lose my attention and become a bit dis-interested. Nevertheless a watchable effort that takes you away from the world outside for a while.
Nick Pett
Although I have some difficulty with aspects of reviews of this film that I have read (where they posit that Albert has essentially turned the tables fully on all of his tormentors), I cannot disagree with what seems to be the consensus: that this is a film that has been put together with admirable care and dedication (witness the long gestation period from first buying of script to beginning shooting to ending shooting), with great results. Troy Garrity is great as the lead, and Bruce Dern was terrific as mr McNally, and with so little screen time at his disposal. Randy Quaid is good, but has the easiest job, I think. being slimy, with that tan, that jacket and that 'tache, was never going to be too hard. What is best about this film is that the cast is mostly unknown, (or in some cases forgotten about) at least in the UK, which allows you to concentrate on the narrative and the emotions of the piece. This is a natural bonus of being a small, indie film. But it also allows things like the closing shot of the fishermen walking across the snow, which lasts for such a long time. How would you get away with that in the mainstream ? The story is of a small-time con, set in a small town, generally a call for two or three big stars to act as trailer trash and show their comedic skills. Such movies always come off as fake and slightly condescending. None of the same is true here. This film feels honest and tender. Congratulations to all involved and to the NFT for bringing it to these shores.
arnaud-meunier
Where to start ?Maybe where the story of this movie ends, on a beautiful shot on the winter, above a frozen lake where Albert is going to fish.All the people following him like as if he were a guide, where as he's following the sky to know where the fishes are...The script was quite simple & could have been treated with all the lines of this kind of movie (the good, the bad) but Allan Mindel succeeded in shooting a movie that comes frm his heart & frm Troy Garity's heart. The characters all hve their strong personalities but they all love Albert like we all do now.Arnaud frm the Jury Première that awarded Milwaukee, Minnesota as the best movie of the American Film Festival of Deauville 2003.