Dirt Road to Lafayette

Though rich in culture and music, The Dirt Road to Lafayette should be a pensive stroll but it comes off more as a melancholic traipse. A lot of this is due to sluggish pacing, unnecessary side characters and an over-reliance on songs in place of character development.

A gentle portrait of a tight grieving Scottish father with few words to express his feelings and his musical son on their trip to family in the south of the USA. Through music, Murdo, the son, finds new challenges and new hopes. The small intimate scale of the movie, backed by the strong lively music that runs through it, taps into many rich themes of family, culture and the importance of music.

It's a bit of a stretch to find a young Scottish lad, shy and diffident, gingerly picking up an accordion he says he hasn't played for awhile then playing the bejaysus out of it. Bedazzled, local dyed in the wool Louisiana zydeco players offer him studio time and a place in a band. However, it's only a stretch. Other movies demand that you leave your brains in neutral in order to accept their alternative take on reality.

It's about grief and letting go. I find other offerings deal with these subjects better, and others worse. At least it doesn't browbeat you with demands on your emotions that are too shrill to work well.

Interesting to see that many reviewers on here were deeply affected by it, while films that I love leave others cold.

Don't expect a fast pace. Enjoy the music.

A lovely portrait of grief, teenage feelings and gentle reflection on the differences that make beauty in this world

A good story and solid script but this film is lifted by the performance of the young actor behind the principal character Neil Sutcliffe. A fantastic supporting cast and some goose-bump inducing music with astute character observation give this film a 3rd dimension. I'll admit to having moist eyes at some points.

I'd hope to see much more from Mr Sutcliffe in the decades ahead as well as more from Director Kenneth Glanaan.