Small Town Wisconsin

I was hoping for more with this movie but found it to be unbearably depressing. The piano score throughout was terrible, always pensive as if someone was in the last of their days on earth.

Spoiler: No one dies of cancer. All you really have is a drunk who is resigned to his addictive dead-end life, and the pity he inflicts onto all around him, including his kid, best friend, ex-wife, sister, hotel receptionist, and just about everyone he comes into contact with.

This is not to say that the movie had any issues with the writing or acting- Wayne is surrounded by friends that truly seem to care about him, a decent guy trying to do the best with what he has. All the actors do a great job with their characters- in fact, that might be part of the problem. They are so believable as to make the whole movie even more painful. I would happily watch anything else with this same cast.

Ugh- regret paying for this movie, regret watching this movie- next time I want to be this depressed, I'll watch 'The Days of Wine and Roses" again- at least that movie was scored beautifully.

An honest movie that is extremely moving. Children split from one of their parents, bitter custody battles, depression from being torn away from your kid is a topic that not many movies touch on but is a major problem. If you add alcoholism to the equation things get gloomy and dark. Wont get into the story to avoid spoilers but I have mention Kristen Johnston and the love she shows to her broken brother. Her performance is phenomenal in its simplicity and authenticity and covers an important topic not covered much in that in these gloomy circumstances many times there is support and Kristen Johnston compassion goes right off the screen and into your heart. Cannot say more cause of spoilers but can say WATCH THIS MOVIE and there will be tears and hope as well.

A real setting, with real people, real dialogue, and real complex problems. No easy solutions in this one, either, because that's life! Kudos to filmmaker Niels Mueller and the entire cast and crew.

Amazing job by director Niels Mueller! The film does homage to small mid-western cities and masterfully portrays real life family struggles. Fabulous film!

Was fortunate enough to see "Small Town Wisconsin" at the Red Tock Film Festival in Cedar City, UT.

Absolutely loved it. All of the performances were spot on - not a weak moment in the film. Mueller's deft skills and talents are obvious throughout. Sullivan's performance echoes those of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It's going to be interesting to see his future trajectory. Musical score develops beautifully and impressively - aligned with the mood and tone of script and performance. Nate Goodman's camera too, serves the story. All cinematic elements are in servitude to the collective mosaic. Not an ego in the bunch. Goes to show the power of the collective.