Touching Home

I'd read the Miller brothers book (YOU'RE EITHER IN, OR YOU'RE IN THE WAY), when it first came out a few months ago and have been itching to see their film ever since. I was finally able to catch the film at a wonderful sneak preview screening, in the awesome Smith Rafael Film Center. And I was even able to chat with the filmmakers afterward. What a treat!

The Miller brothers have created a work of art out of literally nothing. As a feature film producer myself, I know what kind of determination and stamina this takes and my hat goes off to them for a job (extremely) well done. The long hours, sleepless nights, anxiety and frustration all becomes worth it, when you sit in the theater and see your finished product screened before an audience.

Ed Harris was remarkable (as always), the story was simple yet complex and emotionally poignant. The cinematography was beautiful and subtle. I liked that it wasn't over stylized and just allowed the characters and their journey to be the main focal point of the film. TOUCHING HOME is a great little 'slice of life' movie, that touches the heart and speaks eloquently to the depth of human relationships and loss.

I hope that this calling card piece ignites the careers of these talented guys. Bravo to the entire cast/crew!

Touching Home is just one of those movies destined to become a classic and part of Ed Harris' best work as an actor. Right along movies such as Radio, Stepmom and Pollack, this ranks among his best work as an actor and it wouldn't be a surprise if he is nominated or even wins the Oscar for Best Actor for his touching and excellent performance as Charlie Winston, an alcoholic who is struggling to keep himself alive for his day to day existence. Debut directors Noah and Logan Miller make this film as realistic as it can get and their performances as Ed Harris' sons struggling to accept their father's disease. Overall great acting and a heart tugging script make this small indie film worth seeking out and seeing.

I went to this film thinking I was going to see a movie about brothers trying to play baseball in the majors, but the film is much deeper than that and blew me away. Although there is a baseball theme in the film, the film is more focused on the brothers returning to their home town and dealing with their father, who is a homeless alcoholic. The adversity that these brothers faced while growing up is truly inspiring because they are so upbeat and determined to reach their goals. I'm truly grateful that I was able to attend their screening, see them in person, and to observe that they are happy people because I am still shocked by how much they have overcome. If more people had the same determined outlook that these brothers have at reaching their American Dream, our country would be a lot more successful. I would also recommend reading their book "Your Either In or In the Way" because it divulges even deeper into their lives, and describes all of the obstacles they had to face to create this film, the biggest ones being that they had no experience in the film industry as directors, writers, or actors, zero industry connections, and no money. I plan on seeing this film again when in comes out at the end of April, and I definitely will be bringing some tissues for the waterworks.

This film starts out very, very vanilla...the drunken father..the twin sons working at the quarry...nothing grabs you at all. It felt very 'routine' and I nearly took the DVD out and set out to return it midway through the film.

The movie also struggles to find its identity: Is it a film about baseball, alcoholism, or a love story? When one of the twins meets and befriends his teacher girlfriend, that romantic line is quickly forgotten and thrown by the wayside later in the movie. The actress simply disappears.

The father drinks himself into a stupor, yet nothing of his background possibly explaining his alcoholism is expounded upon or explained. He's just drunk all the time. He's therefore a very unlikable and almost unnecessary character - we just see a drunk meandering in and out of his sons lives.

The cinematography/locations are beautiful at times however - but pretty pictures alone does not a good movie make. The story and characters needed to be fleshed out further, particularly the father and the girlfriend. A weak effort indeed.

I received a last minute invite thru Yelp for a private screening of this movie in San Rafael last week. I am not an avid movie reviewer, just a graduate student who was impressed with the film! Needless to say, I came into this movie without knowing much about it, thinking this was just going to be some strange indie flick. I was pleasantly surprised at how well made the film was and this film more than exceeded my expectations.

The actors/writers/directors Noah and Logan Miller tell a very heart wrenching tale about their alcoholic father and their dream of playing professional baseball, which hit a lot of personal notes with me as I too come from a family where members have suffered from the same disease. My boyfriend also played baseball professionally so we were both pleasantly surprised with baseball being a major theme in the movie. I found myself tearing up at some of the scenes! Ed Harris was wonderful in the role of their father. Brad Dourif was also very believable as their uncle.

I highly recommend reading their book too, You're Either In or In the Way, which goes behind the scenes to explain how the film came to be, it really is a story of pure luck as well as people being genuinely impressed with the Miller brothers.

Best of luck to the Miller brothers, this truly was a story that needed to be told and they did an awesome job telling it.