Low Down

I'm not a devoted fan of the style of jazz in this movie. This is surprising because I do like jazz, but I like it when it is more commercial and radio-friendly. Vince Guaraldi is about as intellectual as I get, and that's because of the numerous "Peanuts" specials. But the music here is pleasant to listen to. Except when Amy's friends play rock and roll.

While I had some trouble following what was going on, it appears Amy is 13 and the action at the movie's start is taking place in the early 1970s. We are shown relevant news stories just to drive home the point.

I wanted Joe to succeed in his efforts, and he seemed to be a really nice guy who cared about his daughter, but ultimately things weren't going to go his way.

Without knowing who she was, I immediately realized the actress playing Amy's grandmother was really talented. When I saw the credits, I understood. Glenn Close is one of the top actresses working today, and she consistently delivers here. She is definitely the standout performer. The character is loving but tough.

Another talented actor is Peter Dinklage. You look at how short he is and have certain expectations, but he has the talent and the voice of someone twice his size. It is a brief role as a man living in a rundown apartment because he cant afford better, but he takes it seriously. He makes the character likeable, so I wish there had been more to the role.

Elle Fanning does a good job as the daughter who wanted so much more from her father. It's a shame this is all based on reality because one wishes her life could have been better.

I liked Amy's boyfriend who had seizures. It's such a shame people weren't more understanding about his problems.

The movie is not a classic and it is by no means a family friendly feel-good film, but it is probably worth seeing.

If you've read the book, you'd have experienced many surreal scenes verging on hilarity, interspersed with the bitter realities of a junkie's orbit. The film reversed the dynamic; almost unbroken misery with dim flashes of humanity. The book is near-shaking with energy, the movie is a long, sad slog.

The choices in casting are great and it all should have added up to a major win, but its eyes are set only on the dismal and seedy aspects of Albany's story. There's not enough Jazz, not enough laughter or wonder or hope, all of which the novel has in spades. I couldn't help but reflect on what could have been.

I shouldn't have given this movie a star rating since I didn't actually finish it. It was just too depressing. There is literally not a moment of light in the first 45 minutes. Anyone who has lived around people ruining their lives with drugs and/or alcohol need to approach this film with caution. Maybe things lighten up in the second half, but I had better things to do with my time than wait around to find out. The poor kid.

Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) loves her jazz pianist father Joe Albany (John Hawkes). He's on parole and a recovering addict. Her addict mother Sheila (Lena Headey) returns causing havoc. When her father gets arrested, she goes to stay with Gram (Glenn Close). After her father returns home, she befriends neighbor Alain (Peter Dinklage). Single mom neighbor Colleen (Taryn Manning) dies. Two years later, her father has a new drummer friend Cole (Caleb Landry Jones). Hobbs (Flea) is another friend.

The movie moves slowly and flat for the first three quarters. Hawkes is a good addict. The cast is stock full of great actors. I think Elle Fanning doesn't have enough to do for most of the movie. She has some narration but her character lacks real depth. She doesn't have any friends of her own age. She makes a friend with Alain but he's quickly gone. She can't hold the center of the movie and it suffers from the collapse. The last 30 minutes has some interesting moves for Amy-Jo but it's a little too late.

Jazz is one of my favorite types of music, and it's the primary reason I was interested in this film. What I wasn't expecting was a rather sobering portrayal of addiction and dependency. LOW DOWN tells the story (or at least a part of it) of jazz pianist Joe Albany (John Hawkes) and his daughter, Amy Jo (Elle Fanning). Joe is in and out of prison for drugs but is still trying to clean himself up. It doesn't really help that the people he hangs around are junkies like him, so he eventually skips probation and goes to Europe. He comes back a couple of years later, but it seems like little has changed. If there's one thing that was frustrating about the film, it was that the characters in it keep on making the same mistakes over and over again. However, the central relationship between Joe and and his daughter kept things afloat for the most part. He truly cares for her and does his best to shield her from the seedy side of the life that he lives, even though she does find out on her own. One breath of fresh air was Glenn Close as Joe's mother. She had a no-nonsense attitude that grounded the film and kept it from descending too low into self-pity and misery. That's not to say that John Hawke's wasn't great, which he is, but his character is so unlikeable at times that it was nice to have some common sense and dramatic counterpoint. Elle Fanning is serviceable as Albany's waifish, slight and asthma-stricken daughter. This is certainly the best role I've seen her in, and she seems to feel at home playing these weakish characters. The only thing I don't think she did convincingly was break down into histrionics when her seizure-prone boyfriend (Caleb Landry Jones) is mistakenly arrested by the police. In terms of characters, many of them in this film are afflicted in some way. Joe Albany (and many of his friends) have heroin, his daughter has asthma, her boyfriend has seizures, etc. We see people when they are at their lowest, but yet the film never judges them. There is only the hope that they will one day rise up again. I will say that this isn't the easiest film to watch, in terms of the characters or the laxly paced story. Some might find it too slow or boring, but this is a character-driven biopic. At times I began to wonder when and how it might end, but when the end did come I was fairly satisfied. I should also mention that this film has an excellent soundtrack and score, and includes some scenes of John Hawkes (apparently) playing the piano. If that wasn't actually him then they did a great job of disguising it. Overall, LOW DOWN presents a tender and sometimes moving look into the life of a musician. Just be aware that this isn't your standard biopic.