BJBatimdb

I LOVE this film. It's beautifully written, directed and played by all concerned. A wonderful study of life as a non-Hollywood teenager, with all its angst, misery and confusion that seems so unfair at the time, and which is so funny/irritating/infuriating to everyone else. Earl Cave is eminently slappable as the morose teenager who is expecting to spend the summer in Florida but instead has to stay home with his mum. Handled with understated aplomb by Simon Bird, who quite rightly concentrates on the characters and who draws out some lovely performances, but whose interesting choices also make the film look just that bit different and lend an air of magic realism to the dullest of suburban moments. A real pleasure to watch and rewatch.

A movie with potential made into a frustrating watch by terrible construction and some glossed-over trauma.

The performances are good throughout, and the plot was original, but was then cut to shreds in a series of confusing flashbacks, flashforwards and some flashes where I wasn't sure if it was backwards, forwards or what. At one point there was a scene which I'm not sure even now wasn't a dream sequence.

The child's trauma is underplayed throughout.

Ryan Reynolds is excellent as the father under suspicion, but how the plot was resolved is almost impossible to tell from the disjointed information to hand. In otherwords, there are holes in this that you could drive a bus through.

A right old mix of good acting and setting, and editing/ direction so awful that it's like is rarely seen in modern films.

Two families exploit each other with dire consequences. Beautifully shot and well acted, but devoid of emotional engagement. Little comedy, horror or tension and at no point did I care about anybody involved - which amounts to a wasted trip to the cinema, in my book. Very disappointing, given that it beat some truly exceptional films to the Oscar.