Tu peux compter sur moi

It's like a breath of fresh air to see a drama driven by characters rather than by a typical Hollywood plot. If this were any other drama, someone would get cancer, the little boy would go missing, the stars would look like supermodels, and the characters would talk with a screenwriter's emotional phrase. Here, the characters think, act and talk like real people. They could be us. That's the genius of this movie. If you want fantasy, don't see this film. If you want to be touched by great acting and a wonderful plot that shows the complexities of human relationship, see this film. This isn't Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias or One True Thing. This is real.

How could anyone call this film the worst they've seen in years? The acting wooden, the characters uninteresting???? "You can count on me" is storytelling at its finest. It should've won best screenplay because Lonergan's writing and directing is pure, honest and engaging. Ruffalo's acting was superb as was Linney's. Definitely a pleasure to watch.

I don't. This is just one of Those Movies, y'know? Shot for shot it's great. The cinematography definitely knows what it's doing and it's VERY mindful of itself in such a way that we can ignore it if we're not paying attention to it. As such, the camera steps out of the way and we're free to absorb the story, as simple as it may be. Man... I honestly loved this movie. The acting was top-notch, the principles were great and everyone else was cast so perfectly that every second of the film just falls into place. Just go see it. Please. Mark Ruffalo gives a fantastic performance as an Unfamous, Untalented Bob Dylan. The script is not heavy-handed. It's charming without being aware of itself. It's just a really really good film in the style of good films (re: The Sweet Hereafter) that's going the way of the dodo under the weight of these iconoclastic Hollywood heavy hitters (re: Shaymalan et al). Such a good film. So good.

Originally written as a one-act (which manifests itself as the eventual meeting of Terry and Sammy in the restaurant) by stage veteran Kenneth Lonergan, 'You Can Count on Me' is an amazingly realistic look at the filial dynamic and relationships that come from the breaking and separation of family.

Split from their parents at an early age, Sammy and Terry, the older and younger, respectively, are forced to rely on one another throughout their youths until Terry vanishes, travelling across the nation for a long time.

When he finally returns, Terry finds that Sammy has built a somewhat stable life for herself in their beautifully provincial Appalachian hometown with her single-mom life and her adorable son, Rudy.

'You Can Count on Me' boasts honest, believable dialogue and acting in like kind. Laura Linney's performance as the somewhat-restrained Sammy is easily her best, and Mark Ruffalo's as Terry is also highly evolved. The beauty of this film is that there are literally hundreds of places for the plot or action to derail and become an emotional sap-fest ripe with over-dramatic exclamations, but it stays right on track, always honest, brutal, and, ultimately, endearing.

Lonergan has hit a kind of gold mine here. Fans of his hugely successful 'This Is Our Youth' will recognize his work here, as 'You Can Count on Me' is obviously kith and kin to it.

Do not expect breath-taking special effects. Do not expect dramatic exlcamations or exposition. Do not expect the typical or mundane. This film is extraordinarily truthful in its telling of the boundaries we build for ourselves and the ones we love.

A quick glimpse at others' comments here confirms what I suspected when I finally caught this flick on video myself -- it is something of a Rorschach test for viewers. I notice that there are people who absolutely identify with Laura Linney's character, Sammy, and others who completely see the film from the point of view of Mark Ruffalo's character, Terry. I think this is a sign of a good film. I myself was prepared to dislike Terry because he seemed such an obvious mess, but the film allows him his own point of view that you come to respect. And I am not a religious person at all -- in fact, I have major issues with organized religion -- but I was impressed with the even-handed, sympathetic treatment of religion here, and also of small-town life -- both very rare in American movies. The cast is uniformly good -- in addition to everybody mentioned in others' comments here, I'd single out Jon Tenney as Sammy's well-meaning, on-again off-again boyfriend -- but Linney was simply phenomenal. See this, if only to see how *you* react to it.