Saturn

Tradeoffs, consequences of decisions, layers and parallels embedded in a perfectly-paced, exhilarating, action-family-romance. The family part is enhanced thru the device of home-movie/memory footage. What does romance mean & does it count for anything? Love at first sight? So tenuous. The city provides a backdrop for the action & I love that he takes the subway often, between motorcycle & car rides that elude police while taking care of business. School is not nearly as titillating. Drew (Scott Caan) lives 5 different lives at once and all of them vie & suffer. Can he determine what part of himself takes precedence?

Speed of Life is a drama about a young man who's mother has died and who now has the unenviable task of caring for his father, a once brilliant professor who is now crippled by the onset of Alzheimers Disease and cannot perform any functions such as bathing, eating, or using the restroom on his own. They live in a loft in a drug-ridden borough of NYC. The film follows his attempts to care for his father, earn money, and go to school while meeting a young artist who also happens to be a drug addict.

Excellent film, from writing, acting, script, sets, camera work, etc. Realistic, moving. Scott Caan shows he has range beyond playing the stereotypical criminal and Mia Kirschner in a small but pivotal role excels as usual. The actor portraying the invalid father was phenomenal. A drama that is both depressing and uplifting, worth seeing for avid film watchers.

What an incredible movie, intense and touching.

The storyline is incredible, and the pace with which it's told is simply perfect. The cinematography by Matthew Libatique and the music by Ryeland Allison fit perfectly and complement one another.

I found myself hooked from the very first minute and stayed hooked till the very last.

The cast is incredible; Leo Burmester is absolutely incredible, very intense and heart-touching.

But the one I've enjoyed most in this movie is Scott Caan. I am a huge fan of his, but I don't think I've ever seen him better than here. He's really carrying the whole story by himself, an absolutely believable and realistic performance. His pain and brokenness translate to the viewer, they are absolutely palpable.

Definitely a must-see, a true gem of movie making

Like a lot of indie films, it doesn't seem to know what it's about, but it has a nice understated tension that keeps it from being dull. The main thread is about a young man caring for his disabled father. Everything else is a jumble of tangents--his fling with a female artist looking for kicks, his dead-ender street buddy, his run-ins with the cop on the block, his attempts at school and a career, his brief job as a drug dealer. None of these quite make sense, since the son clearly can't afford to leave his father alone for even an instant, given dad's tendency to nearly fall down elevator shafts and wander outside in his wheelchair. Scott Caan channels much of his real father's (James) charm, and I wonder if this was originally intended as a vehicle for them both. Leo Burmester gibbers and drools effectively, though you wish he had more lucid flashbacks. The film meanders without a plan, much like its protagonist, but the threads pull together enough for a "holy s--t" ending. End result is that it deserves to be better known, at least for the performances by Caan and the late great Burmester.

When the title menu came up, there was no special feature. This was an indication to me that the movie would suck. What a shock I was in for. The film is just what the summary is. I could maybe add one more line for the ending. It is a deeply emotionally mature and sensitive film that blends eloquent film-making with a writer's sensitive rhythm to words and silences, all perfectly executed with the most awesome performances from the actors, director, and film crew. My wife started sobbing as she talked about it. She's artsy and never sobs over films. It was THAT moving.