Life Inside Out

This film is a delight - a lovely, funny, poignant, well made, well written, well acted indie film. Think ONCE but in a traditional family. It is so refreshing to see a story about a woman who isn't in her 20s or 30s and who is empowering herself while still taking care of her family. The music is terrific both from the leads and from the featured musicians. At the showing I attended, there was a talk back and someone commented that, like ONCE, it would make a great stage musical. I concur. This is the kind of film that doesn't get attention from big distributors because nothing blows up and there are no stars. But it's better than much of the blockbuster stuff out there. Run, don't walk.

Beautiful film which draws you in from the first frame. Maggie is a mom whose daily grind leaves little time to devote to self discovery and fulfilling activities. She is pulled by the demands of making dinner and balancing the budget along with managing the different personalities of her kids, husband and sister. As she notices her high school son struggling, she searches for ways to reach him. Music is the bridge that brings the two of them together and reveals each to the other in a deeper sense. I love that in this film the ending is really a beginning but more than that it is a beautiful testament to selfless love, especially a mother's. The characters in this film were well written and real without being difficult to like--each resonated with me on a soul level. Order this film and get ready to relax with characters who feel like old friends.

When I left the movie theater, I was greeted by co-stars Maggie Baird and her son (in the movie and life) Finneas O'Connell. I looked at Finneus like he was some kind of soul-mate and blurted out in amazement "You made a movie about me and my son!!" He just smiled and said "Everyone says that".

I was literally stunned when the movie ended and I realized the characters on the screen were not actually me, my son, and my husband. I am still not able to get it into my mind that I don't at east know these people very well.

Even my 14 year old son, who is usually a brutal critic said they got it right.

The movie made me cry often but not in an obvious manipulated way. I was captivated by how true the many powerful moments were. Nothing took me out of the depth of the moment until the film concluded.

By true, I mean that they have captured those private lonely feelings we go about our lives not sharing, not knowing how to share, and maybe not even seeing ourselves. Then we see them on the screen and our private sadness is shared. It's a feeling of connection and understanding.

It's as if you ate nothing but hyped-up McDonalds meals your whole life and never questioned that they were great, until one day when you actually tasted real food!

I hope there will be another film by this team, but wonder if anything could top this for what it is. It's not so much a story as a truth. It's real food, not formula.

"Life Inside Out" is a story that anyone can relate to. How far do you take a dream? Laura, the main character, re-discovers an old passion - songwriting, which has previously taken a back seat to raising a large family. But the core of the film is how that pursuit of that dream draws her closer to her family, specifically her moody son. The film lays out characters that act truthfully towards one another in a plot that also strives for realism over showy theatrics and lame movie conventions. The direction by Jill D'Agnenica is calculatedly unobtrusive in its style, yet she draws good performances out of the actors, especially Maggie Baird and David Cowgill. Along the way, there's humor and warmth, making this a "Life" worth examining!

This is an excellent film of a character finding a little bit about herself. Few films have a woman in her 40s as the lead. This film makes an engrossing trip into the daily life of one as she finds a part of herself she forgot about and in the process, discovers a side her son as well. Great acting, great directing, a seamlessly crafted work of art. A good family film that avoids clichés yet delivers contemporary America with a realism that is pleasant, mundane and totally familiar.

With scenes involving ScrapBooking and Open Mic performance events, LIFE INSIDE OUT hits hilariously and painfully close to everyone's contemporary suburban existence.