Willkommen bei den Rileys

As a movie buff, I tend to gravitate toward the art & independent material but also due to my area's theater selections, see a fair amount of mainstream movies. Yes, I catch few good films but many times I find disappointment in both worlds. This time ended differently. I can't help but remark how impressed I was by the honest writing and acting of all three characters. Struck me as rather genuine, gritty and believable plot-wise. I also was unsure if I appreciated the decision to refrain from thoroughly fleshing-out every character. One has staggering levels in which they are left to guess about all three. Ie: What happened to Stewart's character other than her mom's accident and demise to lead her on such a disheartening path? Why not more information and insight as to chronicle the downward spiral of this marriage after the child's death? Why not dig into and explore the wife's inward turn to near-hermit? Why is the husband not only so disenchanted with home but also work, albeit this desperate & hopeless soul floundering about? Well, actually wise decision to leave this unknown; I see it's not all that critical to the success of the story. Writers today over-inform.

Another area I originally thought to be a caveat to success was ending as it did. I mean everyone likes and cheers for a happy ending. But pondering this further--really how realistic is this in life? Moreover (and I've worked with troubled and lost kids) this film plays out precisely how life goes. It's not simple to intervene and turn someone around late in the game. There is wisdom, perception and integrity in this attempt to depict a more genuine article of life and that was done. I think Stewart's work was exceptional and her remark that she's "no one's little girl" (something to that affect) captures it brilliantly. You see throughout her vulnerability, survival instinct, yet damaged nature without her acting being sentimental or "hollywood". Yes, nice little gem.

Greetings again from the darkness. Reading the synopsis on this one could lead you to believe you've seen the same thing 40 other times - an indie flick where a nice guy rescues the teenage runaway who has fallen into a life of stripping/prostitution. This assumption would be incorrect. What sets this one apart is the script from writer Ken Hixon and the acting trio of James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo.

Two of those names may surprise you. Gandolfini is of course best known from his run on The Sopranos. What many don't realize is that he was a fine character actor prior to that iconic role. And many more know Kristen Stewart only as Bella from the Twilight franchise. In fact, she was a scene stealer prior to that in Panic Room and again in Into the Wild. Melissa Leo has experienced a career boon since her Oscar nomination for Frozen River. This year, she can also be seen in Conviction and The Fighter.

Hixon's script is unusual because it has the feel of how these people would actually interact. Gandolfini owns a plumbing supply business and leading, as they say, a life of quiet desperation. His wife (Leo) has been a virtual recluse since their teenage daughter died. Their marriage basically died that night as well, though they keep going through the motions that 30 years together brings. While attending a convention in New Orleans, Gandolfini stumbles into a strip joint and falls right into the life of Stewart.

The obvious thought is that he sees this as his opportunity to rescue her from this awful life and be the father he never got to be his own daughter. But there is more. He really comes across as a guy just searching for meaning in life ... his own life. He doesn't pretend to have the answers, but is not content to sit around and wait to die. His bizarre actions motivate his wife to actually leave the house and join him in New Orleans. Her reaction to what she finds is, once again, very real and un-Hollywood.

No need for me to give away any details or plot points. Watching these three together is refreshing for this avid movie goer. The stereotypes are minimal. The dialogue is sparse, but authentic ... just like the setting. Searching for meaning can be a painful process and it's not always obvious when one has succeeded. The director of the film is avid music video director Jake Scott, who also happens to be the son of Ridley and nephew of Tony. Jake shows none of the over the top tendencies of his more famous relatives. In fact, the level of understatedness is a joy to behold.

This independent film "Welcome to the Rileys" is one when you watch you will feel gritty and touched and see that life is full of heartache, pain and it's very complex for some and the cast is an all star lineup featuring James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, and Melissa Leo.

Gandolfini("The Sopranos")is Doug Riley a married man who's a humble guy yet inside he's a torched soul as he stills feels the pain and sorrow of losing his teenage daughter. And Doug decides to take a business trip from Indiana to New Orleans to get away for some pondering from his sweet yet neurotic and nervous ridden wife Lois(the great Melissa Leo). And upon arriving in the big easy he meets in a club a young exotic dancer named Mallory(Kristen Stewart). And Mallory has more problems than just being a stripper she's a messed up and foul mouthed little girl who needs direction.

And ironically Doug fills the void in his heart by feeling sorry for Mallory as he ventures to her rundown apartment and slowly yet surely he takes her under his wing. Doug even starts to fix things up and stay right with her this is love attachment not of the erotic kind. It's like this guy with daddy issues has solved his complex life and bleeding heart with a new love as this takes away the pain of his lost daughter. And finally when Lois journeys down to the big easy she sees that them being with Mallory was not meant.

Overall pretty good picture of emotional attachment and love still it proves that some connections were not meant to be still if you show a troubled heart love then hope and a new journey is possible.

A couple trying to cope with the death of their 15 year old daughter individually handle themselves in a way that works for them. Three people who are completely different get to know each other and all have ways of helping each other cope with where their lives are at. After going to New Orleans on a business trip, Doug Riley (Gandolfini) meets Mallory (Stewart) and tries to take care of her (like a daughter). Let me start by saying that Kristen Stewart is a good actress (when not playing Bella) and hold her own with Tony Soprano. This is another movie that is only watchable because of the performances. I enjoyed it, but if the acting was bad it would have been hard to sit through. This is a completely character driven story so if your looking for action I'd look elsewhere, but if you want a well done drama you've come to the right place. Story is OK, acting again makes this a better movie then it is. I give it a B.

Would I watch it again? - If it was on TV I would not immediately change the channel.

Ever since it's initial premiere at the Sundance Film Festival back in January of this year, "Welcome to the Rileys" has always been on my must see list. Unlike other film critics and journalists, I unfortunately, do not currently have a career in film journalism. I currently do it as a hobby/part time job. What does this mean? Well I don't get to hit all the festivals I would like to, but only a few per year. In the near future, I would hope to have a career in film journalism and be able to attend at least 20 festivals a year. Thankfully, I did have the opportunity to catch a screening of "Welcome to the Rileys" at the 19th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival this year.

"Welcome to the Rileys" tells the tale of Doug (James Gandolfini), a man who seems to have lost all desire for life. He lives at home with his depressed wife Lois (Melissa Leo) who hasn't left the house in several years. On top of this, he seems to have grown tired of his job as well as his marriage. One day on a business trip, Doug runs into Mallory (Kristen Stewart) who is both troubled and lost. This is when Doug realizes that he can help improve her life and seeks salvation by taking care of Mallory. This is where the underlying details of Doug's life begin to unravel...

The best part of "Welcome to the Rileys" hands down are the performances. I have been following Kristen Stewart as an actress for several years now ever since I first saw her in "Panic Room." Many people seem to have a love/hate relationship with her thanks to her unemotional and stiff role as Bella in the "Twilight" franchise. I would love to convince people to give her a shot as an actress but people seem to be rather set in their ways on her. For Stewart, it's hard not being the typical hot young actress. She's a rather unique actress with a non-typical Hollywood look and that's what I like about her. As for her performance in "Welcome to the Rileys," she is both raw and risqué. The amount of bad language and how dirty Stewart looks in the film would make a sailor look clean. Stewart's performance is by far the best one in the film. She is a lost soul with very little self respect in the film. She plays a stripper, which is a role I never thought I would ever see her play but just plays it perfectly. This is without a doubt Stewart's best role to date and even tops her performance as Joan Jett in "The Runaways." I would even argue that Stewart deserves an Oscar for her performance here, that's how good I felt she was in the film.

Besides Stewart, James Gandolfini gives an Oscar worthy performance here as well. I like the fact that Gandolfini decided to step out of his typical tough guy role to play a character who had a lot of heart and emotion was nice to see. This was a real turn for him. Many people know Gandolfini from "The Sopranos" and I am happy to say this role is a complete opposite from that. In this role, he is a very troubled character with a complex background. His performance is very dramatic, heartfelt, and powerful. When he argues with either Stewart or Leo in the film, you truly believe the raw emotion that is being displayed. Stewart and Gandolfini play off one another like pros in the film. They have great chemistry. As for Melissa Leo, she was also great in the film, she did a great job playing a wife who was damaged. When Stewart and Leo were together on screen their chemistry was amazing. As I said earlier in the review, the three lead roles were terrific! Director Jake Scott did a great job on this film. This was his first film since 1999 and he really hit this one out of the park. He captured the raw emotion and the suffering of all these characters, not to mention the fact he captured the grunginess of New Orleans. The direction of the film was great and there are several memorable scenes in this film including one scene with Melissa Leo's character Lois trying to drive her car for the first time in several years.

Ken Hixon was in charge of writing the screenplay for "Rileys" and I have to give him some credit points here. Some might say the the dialog was too over the top for him but I think that really shows how uneducated and the lack of respect Stewart's character had. I think it made it much more believable to a way that someone who had that background would speak. I also think the character development in the script was on point. The characters had the perfect amount of background to not make them interesting and not clichéd.

At the end of the day, "Welcome to the Rileys" almost lived up to all the hype surrounding it. I basically went to see the film for the performance by Stewart and Gandolfini and those definitely did not disappoint. The film, itself had good character development, good performances, was raw and gritty, and had a decent storyline. The ending wasn't perfect but it fit the bill in order to not be a typical clichéd movie. Its definitely holding a spot on my top 10 of the year even though it isn't near the top. The film is worthy of admission and I can definitely see this film getting some attention come Oscar season for the performances. If you are a fan of Stewart or of Gandolfini, this is a definitely a must see as well as those who appreciate a realistic dramatic film.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Welcome to the Rileys" is a solid 8 out of 10.