Caipira

This movie has unfortunately earned the negative reviews it has seen since it's release. I haven't read the source material, but I can guarantee this is one of those instances of it being better than the adaptation. This is not the fault of the actors. Chloe Grace-Moretz makes this film tolerable, which is impressive given her age at the time of filming. She is quite likeable in everything I've seen her in, this is no exception.

The rest of the cast suffers from a bad script and bad casting. Blake Lively seems like a major character in this film, until she disappears for a long period of time completely destroying any momentum her character had in the story. Eddie Redmayne is a capable actor, but I just don't buy him as this manipulative, dangerous, and unstable cowboy. Alec Baldwin appears out of nowhere in the last ten minutes, I get the feeling that his character Beau should have been a bigger part of the story.

The biggest problems with this movie is that the script meanders and the pacing is awful. This is one of those movies where you get forty-five minutes into it, and still aren't sure what it's even about. The movie then races to its conclusion in the final twenty minutes. What did any of the characters learn? How did they grow as people? It is unclear by the end as to how the events of the movie shaped and impacted our main character, making this a complete waste of time and a forgettable boring slog that I will surely forget immediately after completing this review.

This movie wasn't that great, but I think it was better than most of the reviews would suggest. I like films that meander, though. The main character is kind of smart and kind of stupid and has no idea what she's doing. I think that's pretty realistic for a 13 year old runaway. They're not always going to do things that make sense.

I thought the acting was pretty good. I like how it was shot. I like the time period and thought they did a pretty good job depicting rural America in the 80s. How it looked, how it felt. It's little things like the radio that was from the 70s or maybe even the 60s. In lots of period films they stuff the whole thing full of objects from the 80s, but that's not how people live. Particular poor people will have some older stuff around. There were some nice details like that.

The acting was good but the plot was very depressing. This was sad.

I would probably give this about a 5.5, but since that's not available, I'll be nice and say 6. Chloe Moretz is what primarily drove me to see this film at first, especially since I wasn't too familiar with or cared for any of the actors who were to be in it. I might be a bit biased because prior to my viewing, all I'd heard was how AWFUL this film was. But I said screw it, it's Chloe Moretz. I've been on a Chloe binge lately and thought I'd help satisfy it by catching this. A month before its May 11th release, I read the book and was legitimately impressed. The book truly captivates the reader, by giving you a sincere sense of what goes on in Luli's mind, given her experiences with a troubled family and redneck life. Having truly enjoyed the book, I was able to ignore the horrid reviews I'd read and decided I'd go for it anyway.

I'll say this: if it weren't for Chloe Moretz and Eddie Redmayne, this film would truly have been a flop. The script is a bit similar to the book, as pertaining to the volatility of the plot and random introduction of significant characters. But the script fails by giving most of these spontaneously interjected characters ridiculously short screen time (Blake Lively only had about MAYBE 15-20 min. tops?). Characters that had given reasonably substantial meaning to Luli's depicted life on the road, such as Clement, Beau, even Lloyd, had no more than 2-3 minutes screen time apiece, and many of them were given almost no depth whatsoever.

Chloe did a fantastic job of acting, as usual. Her portrayal of a charming, street-smart yet semi-innocent teenage girl is visually and emotionally gripping. Her camera action and dialogue alike are the culmination of what only the most talented, versatile young actress in Hollywood can produce. Blake Lively did a reasonably decent job, and actually showed a surprising amount of character depth. But it is Mr. Redmayne who steals the show.

Having never seen a film with Eddie Redmayne before, I can't say that I had really known what to expect from him. I had read from many sources that he had done a fabulous job in this film, with one such reviewer even claiming he deserved an Oscar nod. Having read the book and been well-acquainted with what to expect from the man playing Eddie Kreezer, the acquaintance-turned-murderer-turned-kidnapper, I was thoroughly and legitimately impressed with his depth. Eddie Redmayne brought a perfect combination of charm and emotional versatility, with the underlying degree of insanity which would turn extreme in the final act of the film. Redmayne's western accent was phenomenal, given his English citizenship, and his charming cowboy persona was spot-on. His mood in scenes would vary from condescending to charming to menacing and so on. I can honestly say that Eddie Redmayne literally made the show for me.

The film as a whole will probably not be up for any (significant) awards, especially given its indie status and almost obsolete promotion. I can't recommend that the average moviegoer check out this film, maybe not even the average Chloe Moretz fan. But if you're up for a road film centered on a young girl who learns to literally pull herself up by her bootstraps and survive countless things, from abandonment to rape to kidnapping and so on, it could be worth your time.

I first have to say that I have no problems with the performances; everyone did a great job in that department. Throughout the film Luli is drawing in a sketch book as she narrates and I really liked the simplicity of the drawings. No, what let it down (IMO) was a poorly put together script. They say it's a bad idea to let the writer of a novel attempt the screenplay and I suspect this is a case in point. It probably works very well as a book, but it really didn't work on the screen in this form. I like the actors fine but I found little to like in the characters. Our main focus, Luli, has very few redeeming features; she was a victim of circumstance all the way through and I found it quite frustrating to watch I'm afraid. Sadly not one I can recommend.

SteelMonster's verdict: NOT RECOMMENDED

My score: 4.9/10

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.