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Long Road Home is better than I expected it to be. I began to watch it expecting a cheesy old family flick, only to find that it's...actually pretty good.

The actors, above all the ones who play Seth and his grandfather, act superbly. The beautiful forests shown set the mood perfectly, and the direction is almost flawless. But the element of the film I love the most is the writing. The emotional struggles the characters face have never come across as forced, and neither, surprisingly, do the brief moments of comic relief. They act in this film as real people would act, something many independent films cannot boast of.

There are only two things in this film which I must criticize: the pace, which a couple times slows down to show around ten establishing shots after the other (obviously a way to make the film's runtime last 90 minutes), and a dream sequence during the film which feels more confusing honestly than anything else.

These two flaws, luckily, do not have enough impact to ruin the movie. I am therefore proud to declare Long Road Home a excellent, sweet but not sugary, movie for the whole family.

12-year-old Seth George goes to live with his grandparents on a ranch after the death of his mother. His hardnosed grandfather hates his daughter's marriage to Seth's native father who died during the Vietnam war. Seth is taken with neighbor girl Annie Jacobs (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

The writing is a little broad and yet somehow reserved. Grandpa hates the mix marriage but he doesn't call the father derogatory names. In fact, he seems to be respectful when dealing with his native in-laws. He puts it down to believing in staying with your own kind. I guess it works. Maybe if he's not as angry. His anger suggests that he would be brutal in dealing with not his kind. All in all, it's fine. It's indie acting and indie filmmaking. There is also a very young Mary Elizabeth Winstead. At first, she looks different but her facial features do show through.

This is the 4th Craig Clyde movie I have seen. It is a change of pace, grimmer than the others, as we see a good boy try to cope with his grandfathers never ending coldness towards him and everything. But as the wise Indian said, "Its best to let hate burn out." And so it does. Time and circumstance brings them together with a beautiful, rewarding ending that ties everything up and leaves everyone happy. The title perfectly sums it up. This is an absorbing character study/time piece. I've yet to be disappointed/always been impressed with the writer/directors work. I think I'll take his invitation on the commentary and see his website/send him an email.