Loitering with Intent

... this is one of those movies you can't go wrong with when looking for a human everyday life story with good acting and fine dialog.

I had not heard of this flick but noticed Sam Rockwell is one of the actors along with Marisa Tomei and these two seem to always give life to each role they play. Both are multidimensional actors always capable of capturing the viewer.

The basic plot is two actor/writers escape the distractions of NYC in the summer to go to a NY country side house to concentrate on writing a script. But unexpectedly find themselves even more distracted by family and friends who happen to show up. They also unexpectedly find themselves dealing with their own emotional & psychological needs and conflicts.

A well done story of people at crossroads in life. Don't expect closure at stories end because this story is just a look at a few days in these characters life.

Raphael (Ivan Martin) and Dominic (Michael Godere) are struggling New York actors who claim to have written a film noir screenplay in order to get tax credit funding for $300k. This could be the big break they are looking for as they struggle to get theatre parts and work in bars to make ends meet.

The only problem is that have not written a word and head to a country retreat at Raphael's sister's place Gigi (Marisa Tomei) to bash out a script in ten days.

When they arrive, writing the screenplay takes a back seat as Dom wants to get it on again with neurotic Gigi a former love, they also get distracted by her friend Ava. Gigi's hostile boyfriend Wayne (Sam Rockwell) arrives with his dim surfer brother which causes more tensions between everyone.

Nothing much happens in this film. You expect the two main characters would be involved in the creative process of taking advantage of a break that has unexpectedly come their way but we get lost in naval gazing between some eccentric characters and then the film ends.

A poor effort with the leads who also wrote the script being uninteresting and shallow characters.

Two writers head to the country to clear their heads and come up with a screenplay with an impossible deadline of 10 days. Good acting all around, and a good basic story. Right away, we see conflict down the road, since the numbers don't add up. Alcohol, four dudes, and two hot chicks. Clearly, trouble ahead. and there are just SO many subplots going on here. The angry ex-boyfriend with PTSD. The muscled surfer who ends every sentence with dude. and apparently a LOT of resentment between the two friends, who are writing partners as well as co-workers in a bar. There IS a really good message in here, which I guess could be summed up as "stop whining and accomplish something". Don't ask for approval. Don't waste time talking and complaining. All good advice. The two leads (Michael Godere and Ivan Martin) frequently work together, so this could be their own story. Strong performance by Marisa Tomei. This easily could be a tv series, or maybe just have a sequel to see where everyone ends up. Really good ensemble group, kind of like seinfeld. Each character has their own story, their own strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes they follow their own advice, sometimes they don't. Recurring themes of love, jealousy, ambition, even hints of bisexuality. Lots of meat on the bones of each character. Mostly well done. Can't really say more.. that would be giving away spoilers.

I love movies with a tight script and great ensemble actors.

I really didn't have high expectations for this. The few reviews there are, most of them seem mixed, if barely decent. So I'm a little surprised by how entertaining I found the film to be. The acting is pretty solid across the board, the two leads do a good job. As one would expect though, the big stars steal the show. Sam Rockwell has been one of the finest actors around for a long time now, and this is no exception. Different from what he usually excels at, too. Marisa Tomei is even funner, being loud, often brassy, but with enough heart to really sell and become the heart of the film. The two supporting players steal the show, but not terribly so that you don't care about the leads.