Lamb

LAMB is set in the Midwest and its conventions. A middle aged man, beset by adult challenges including the death of a parent, work and crumbling relationships, encounters a young girl whose home has provided no identity or value. The two go on a road trip deeper into the heart of the country and into unexpected inner places. LAMB is risky and challenging exploration of love, our need for it, the unusual places where we find it and the sacrifices it calls for. Oona Laurence as the young girl is superb and deserves consideration for a Best Actress award. The cinematography is evocative. Ross Partridge is to be commended for his integrity, courage and skill in bringing this story to the screen.

First it is worth noting that this is based on a novel written by a female, meaning it has appropriate sensitivity to the subject, a 40-something man and an 11-yr-old girl forming a love relationship. He is closer to a grandfatherly age, and in the book the age gap was even larger.

Ross Partridge is 40-something David Lamb with a few difficulties in his life. One day he is approached by this small for her age girl, Oona Laurence as Tommie, asking on behalf of her friends for a cigarette. Tommie is a good kid burdened with an uncaring mother and her mother's boyfriend.

She and David gradually form a bond, one which takes them on a road trip to the mountains of Wyoming. They share motel rooms, sometimes even the same bed, but all depicted in a non-sexual manner. She often acts and reacts like the little girl she is, he is always kind and gentle with her, and ultimately each of them come to profess love each other although we strongly suspect he is just being manipulative.

This theme has been explored before, twice by characters that Natalie Portman played, first in "Leon" and then in "Beautiful Girls." It is a theme that undoubtedly commonly exists in real life, especially where a young girl does not have a kind and loving father figure in her life.

Stories like this are easy to begin, but are harder to write in a satisfying ending. I wish I had access to the book, to compare it to how this one ended. It is open to lots of interpretation.

Very interesting movie, young Laurence is really great in the role. I watched it on Youtube free streaming movies.

Sept 2020 edit: I found the book and read it, most of the dialog is right from the book. While it ends about the same way the middle of the "trip" is a bit closer to "Lolita", although the author never gets specific some of the terms and imagery suggest that the relationship crossed over to a sexual one. Another difference, Lamb was in his 50s, making the age gap even larger.

Ross Partridge directs and stars in "Lamb," a 2015 film following David Lamb (played by Ross Partridge), a man in his late forties who is quickly becoming aware of his disintegrating goodness. He encounters a girl named Tommie (played by Oona Lawrence). Though she's only eleven years old, David is aware that she is in danger of becoming just as defeated by life as he is. The two connect, and a friendship grows. In an effort to save Tommie from becoming just like him, David invites Tommie away from the city and into the country heartland he grew up in. What follows is a journey of self- discovery for both David and Tommie, culminating in an emotional bond that neither of them could have predicted.

The main character's choice to befriend an eleven year old girl is at the center of the film's controversy. The film pays a price for having a protagonist who crosses social sanctioned boundaries in trying to do the right thing, scaring off potential viewers. Partridge was very aware of this controversy, and the ethics of their relationship is one of the continuing topics within the film: Is David going to get in trouble for his behavior? Does he deserve to get in trouble? For the sake of not trying to force my perception of their relationship, I won't try too hard to persuade you one way or another.

It is important, however, to note that while Tommie and David are constantly thrown into circumstances that force them to confront the delicacy of their situation, their relationship never approaches a sexual nature. You needn't worry about David peeking at Tommie in the bathroom, or anything similar.

Ross Partridge and Oona Lawrence embody their characters so naturally. What they do here should barely be called acting. More like being. Partridge is given the complex task of having to convey deep confusion to the audience, but confidence when he's with his costar. Fortunately, he's able to pull this off and articulate David's personal journey at every stage with perfection. Despite her young age, Lawrence demonstrates remarkable acting in such a demanding role, conveying innocence and intelligence simultaneously. More impressive than the acting ability of either individual is the chemistry between the two leads. They aren't the only actors in the film, but still carry the film mostly between the two of them. Fortunately, they carry it just fine.

One element of the film that really surprised me was the cinematography, specifically the number of landscape shots. Even images of the city, which is supposed to represent a metaphorical prison for both characters, look tranquil. This form is consistent throughout the film as the background changes to hotel lobbies to the roadside to the country. These landscape shots were amplified by the music underscoring each scene.

The recurring piano score endowed the film with a sort of innocence, a hopefulness that neither of the protagonists have a surplus of. It's especially helpful early on as Tommie and David's relationship starts to bud. Probably the single best tool the film used to alleviate the uncertainty we feel toward David at the beginning.

Assuming he'd prefer viewers to not be drowned by David's unconventional behavior, I'd suggest to Partridge that he give increased cognizance of Tommie's sad home life to David. The easiest argument against David having ill intentions is that he was trying to save Tommie from wasting away in neglect, and even an unconventional intervention is better than no intervention at all. While we see that David is aware of Tommie's situation, further enunciating that Tommie would be worse off without him would make his actions much more understandable. This would have been much more helpful, not to mention economic, than David or Tommie intermittently commenting, "This is weird. He, he."

Lamb is bold in a way many films claim to be but seldom are. Not everyone is going to accept Partridge's direction, which is understandable. Lamb may be aggressive in how it breaks social norms, but in the wake of Partridge's loud experiment is a delicately crafted film. The liberation afforded to this movie allows for a very honest exploration of good intentions, redemption, and the nature of love, in the process creating a relationship that manages to be both powerful and tender. I'm not sure I've seen anything like it anywhere else in the film world. The closest I can think of would be Leon: The Professional. One thing is for sure, much like David and Tommie are changed by their adventure, you will never be the same after watching this film.

Lamb (2015) is a unique indie drama directed, written and produced by Ross Partridge, who also stars in the film. To be completely honest, I think this film is extremely hard to talk about. At points, I found it extremely uncomfortable. But that's the point. Well acted all around. Oona Laurence and Ross Partridge both gave excellent performances. In addition to great performances, the cinematography was also wonderful. This isn't just a cliché indie drama. The film splits off in a different directions, especially with the ending. I found Lamb to be an extremely memorable movie. Really hard to talk about without spoiling anything. Just go watch it. It's worth your time.

"Lamb" (2015 release; 96 min.) brings the story of David Lamb, a guy down on his luck. As the movie opens, we see David visit his sick father and it's not long afterwards that we learn his father has passed away, and on top that David has been kicked out by his wife, and David's boss tells him he needs to take some time off due to his affair with a co-worker. The next day David gets approached in a parking lot by a young lady who wants a cigarette. The two strike up a conversation, and from there a friendship develops. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love from under-the-radar actor Ross Partridge, who also directs and wrote the script (based on the critically well-received debut novel of the same name by Bonnie Nadzam). Partridge navigates the difficult task of portraying a relationship between a middle-aged man and an 11 yr. old girl, both of them two lost souls looking for some redemption, that can be viewed as just a friendship or maybe something more (platonically). It often makes for unsettling watching, and I will admit I came close to walking out of the theater a couple of times. Oona Lawrence, whom we saw not long ago in "Southpaw", shines as the little girl Tommie. Much of this is also a road movie (they are driving to and then back from David's family cabin way out west somewhere). There are some great side performances, including from Jess Weixler as David's co-worker Linny. I very much enjoyed the movie's score, composed by Daniel Belardinelli.

"Lamb" opened out of the blue today on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati without any pre-release hype or advertising. The early evening screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I literally was the only person there. I can't imagine that this movie will play more than one week in the theater, so if you want to check this out, you'll need to get VOD or eventually the DVD release.