Lamb

"Lamb" (2015 release; 96 min.) brings the story of David Lamb, a guy down on his luck. As the movie opens, we see David visit his sick father and it's not long afterwards that we learn his father has passed away, and on top that David has been kicked out by his wife, and David's boss tells him he needs to take some time off due to his affair with a co-worker. The next day David gets approached in a parking lot by a young lady who wants a cigarette. The two strike up a conversation, and from there a friendship develops. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love from under-the-radar actor Ross Partridge, who also directs and wrote the script (based on the critically well-received debut novel of the same name by Bonnie Nadzam). Partridge navigates the difficult task of portraying a relationship between a middle-aged man and an 11 yr. old girl, both of them two lost souls looking for some redemption, that can be viewed as just a friendship or maybe something more (platonically). It often makes for unsettling watching, and I will admit I came close to walking out of the theater a couple of times. Oona Lawrence, whom we saw not long ago in "Southpaw", shines as the little girl Tommie. Much of this is also a road movie (they are driving to and then back from David's family cabin way out west somewhere). There are some great side performances, including from Jess Weixler as David's co-worker Linny. I very much enjoyed the movie's score, composed by Daniel Belardinelli.

"Lamb" opened out of the blue today on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati without any pre-release hype or advertising. The early evening screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I literally was the only person there. I can't imagine that this movie will play more than one week in the theater, so if you want to check this out, you'll need to get VOD or eventually the DVD release.

David(Ross Partridge) is a forty seven year old man who has just lost his father and divorced his wife and seems on the verge of a nervous break down. After burying his father, he meets an eleven year old girl, Tommie(Oona Laurence) at a parking lot, where, somehow, they connect. Thus begins a strange journey, where the two relate on an emotional level. David takes Tommie on a road trip to a desolate cabin in the mountains while searching for some meaning to his life. Tommie is an outcast with indifferent parents. The writer of the novel, Lamb, Bonnie Nadzam, claims to never have read Lolita, which was also adapted for the screen in 1962 by Stanley Kubrick. The themes are similar, but Lolita's protagonist, played by the precocious and self assured fifteen year old Sue Lyon, is a million miles apart from the innocent eleven year old Oona Laurence. Though at times unsettling, Lamb never veers into Lolita's explicitly sexual territory. Partridge and Laurence are riveting together and I look forward to see what the young actress does next. Lamb is a solid 8/10.

LAMB is set in the Midwest and its conventions. A middle aged man, beset by adult challenges including the death of a parent, work and crumbling relationships, encounters a young girl whose home has provided no identity or value. The two go on a road trip deeper into the heart of the country and into unexpected inner places. LAMB is risky and challenging exploration of love, our need for it, the unusual places where we find it and the sacrifices it calls for. Oona Laurence as the young girl is superb and deserves consideration for a Best Actress award. The cinematography is evocative. Ross Partridge is to be commended for his integrity, courage and skill in bringing this story to the screen.

I'd like to start off by saying I found this movie by accident - I spent the first half thinking I was watching A24's 2021 movie by the same title. I'll admit, a lot of it was uncomfortable to watch. I was constantly waiting for the relationship between the two main characters to take a dark turn, but the friendship developed between the them was endearing & heartwarming to watch. Definitely a questionable plot, a little unrealistic, but nonetheless an enjoyable little film.

Another film lost in the pile. Yes the plot is morally questionable given the kidnapping of an 11 year old girl...but it's a great film. I wish people were smarter and can see into the reasoning behind everything the main characters do. It's not about sex or pedophilia, it's about people that are lost.

This is a very very sensitive subject, and to make a film about a child kidnapping and have the narrative go the way it goes does makes u think. It's disturbing and fascinating at the same time. Watch it. If u like films that make u think :)