Friday's Child

This is a small, independent movie. It is mostly set in Waco, Texas and mostly shot there. I recognized some of the areas from my several visits a few years back. They even have a scene of throwing tortillas off the Waco Suspension Bridge, a ritual most Baylor college students go through.

Texas native Tye Sheridan is the main character, Richie, an orphan who has banged around the foster system for most of his life. He is just turning 18 and as such will be emancipated. But how prepared is a barely educated 18-yr-old to jump right into adult life?

This story is about that difficulty and the eventual trouble he finds himself in. It is hard to find a real purpose for this movie other than to tell an interesting fictional story but one which may be close to reality for some in a similar situation.

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library, however she abandoned it when things got a bit weird in the middle of the movie.

Once in a great while we have the opportunity to watch a "movie" that allows us to set on the shoulder of its characters, and observe the world that they live in. Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy come to mind. I am not saying this effort is in that astronomical realm, but it's not too far behind.

Imogen Poots has taken advantage of some great parts and should be considered for a high-end lead. Her understated Joan overcomes a few script deficiencies (they meet because she doesn't know who to drive a standard shift SUV). She's understandably frustrated, probably because they don't make any of those outside of Yugoslavia. Caleb Landry gives an extraordinary performance as "Swim." Occasional Hi Def, natural light scenes offer beautiful segues. Low cost but interesting, very visual sets. Definitely worth your time.

Not terrible. Not great. I was expecting a depressing film about aging out of the foster care system, but this was merely the setting for the film, although it's definitely depressing. The cinematography was interesting, and some scenes were shot quite beautifully. The actors did a fine job. Overall, it was just okay.

Acting good and realistic almost doccie like film giving it a very realistic feel...but ohhhh so drawwwwn out!...I just wanted it to end before I aged out and turned the light's out!

How can one of the least talked about films of the last couple of years - have such insanely good photography? It is truly beautiful. Frame after frame after frame - I couldn't look away. Anybody who is into cinematography should watch this movie, and you'll be dazzled.

The DoP is Jeff Bierman, who seems to have done a few music videos before this. The close ups, shots of nature, lateral camera movements, colour shcemes etc are breathtaking. It's like a Trey Shults movie photographed by Emmanuel Lubezki. That's not an exaggeration. It really is that well shot. Director AJ Edwards is another that has apparently worked with Mallick - and it really shows.

The cinematography is the best thing about the movie, which tells the story of an orphan trying to make a fresh start in life after being released from a care home. It's like the lovechild of Short Term 12 and American Honey with an indie crime movie element thrown in. Tye Sheridan is Tye Sheridan, and there are nice turns from Geoffrey Wright and Imogen Poots, but Caleb Landry Jones steals the show, so much so that I'm sure he's destined to be a huge star once he's given the right lead role. The guy can act.

The plot is a tad thin and somewhat predictable, which lets the movie down somewhat. The melodramatic 3rd act doesn't help. But the astounding cinematography bumps the rating back up again.