This is a quiet little film that sneaked under the radar.
Clocking in at a little over the 90 minute mark, this is an effective character piece. Having gone through a divorce myself last year and a major move from Ohio to South Carolina, I can relate to the philosophical predicament here: your stuff becomes your life. The scenes of Will Ferrell's Nick explaining the significance of minor trinkets hit me hard.
Speaking of Will Ferrell, he's a marvel of reserve here. There were moments in Stranger than Fiction when he played it big, but here he's all quiet frustration. The scene in the gas station when he finally blows up is a slow burn, and the immediate following scene of him begging for a beer out in the front of the store is appropriately sad and pathetic. Real kudos to the man, he's pulling a Robin Williams/Jim Carrey.
Rebecca Hall's Samantha is a compelling counterpoint to Nick, a pregnant woman that's just moved to Arizona and has put her life on hold for her husband. I appreciate her being pregnant, in fact, because otherwise a lesser filmmaker would have played up sexual tension between the two characters. As is, she's allowed to be a fully realized character and not another Manic Pixie Girl. She's warmth and grace, but also pushes Nick when needed.
The rest of the cast, including young Christopher Wallace as Kenny and Michael Pena as Frank, are all solid but felt like first timers. I understand that Pena is an experienced actor, but here he's not allowed to stretch. A last minute reveal about his character is expected but negates somewhat of the weight of his earlier kind words. It's hard to get a bead on the character as there's a wall between him and Nick, and then sudden aggression that comes from a bit of a cop-out.
Loved the music, mostly acoustic and quiet singing along with a few oldies. The camera work mostly steps back and allows the actors to shine. This could have been a play in that area.
Check it out. The film drags a bit in the middle, and an appearance by Laura Dern feels somewhat out of left field and anti-climactic, but once Nick is forced to sober up the movie picks up speed again.
