A detective deals with the loss of his own son while trying to uncover the identity of a boy whose mummified remains are found in a box buried for fifty years.A detective deals with the loss of his own son while trying to uncover the identity of a boy whose mummified remains are found in a box buried for fifty years.A detective deals with the loss of his own son while trying to uncover the identity of a boy whose mummified remains are found in a box buried for fifty years.
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A beautiful and at the same time a sad story told from two points of view, one from the present and the other from the '50. The crossing makes the movie watchable and the fact that they are connected makes the movie even more intriguing. It's almost impossible not to share a tear after and the original story could make us to forget about the little flaws. An unique film that deserves your time.
If you are looking for something to pass 90 minutes, you could do a lot worse.
The story basically is a cop, Tom Adkins, is haunted by the disappearance of his son 8 years ago. Then he discovers the remains of another boy about the same age as his own son, who was murdered 50 years previously. He becomes obsessed with the case, which has been long-forgotten. Is the 1958 case, involving down-on-his-luck dad of three family man, Matthew Wakefield and his own sons disappearance linked in any way to that of Tom Adkins?
Acting is fine by all.
Personally I thought the film started really well, and I thought the 1958 story was more interesting than the present story. But the ending seemed a tad rushed.
But, not a bad film at all.
My advice...well worth renting....but don not buy! (It's a watch once film)
Ten years ago police officer Tom Adkins, Sr (Jon Hamm) left his only son Tom Jr. in a diner for a moment, only to return and find him missing. His abilities as a law enforcement officer and his guilt as a 'negligent' father erodes his life and his marriage to Barbara (Rhona Mitra): he is unable to give up the search for his missing son despite the ten years of absence, a factor that practically drives his marriage to divorce. A body is found in a box and Tom Sr immediately thinks it is his son, but investigation reveals that it is the body of a child that has been dead for fifty years. The film then begins a series of flashbacks to a story fifty years ago when a young father Matthew Wakefield (Josh Lucas), having lost all of his money and home and facing the resultant suicide of his wife decides he must place his three children with relatives: one son, John (Jimmy Bennett), is mentally challenged, and Matthew's relatives will only take the two 'normal' boys, leaving John to live with his unemployed father. Matthew finds a room for the two of them and begins works at a construction site, John tags along to be with his dad - a problem for the boss of the construction site. Matthew forms friends with Diploma (James Van Der Beek) and Swede (Holt McCallany), is diverted by a sexual liaison, and during that time John is abducted. We lose track of Matthew at this point, but jumping back to the present the discovered boy's body proves to be John Wakefield and this discovery consumes Tom Sr to uncover the murderer of the Wakefield boy, hoping that in some way it ties in with the disappearance of his own son. The plot becomes a bit murky at this point and a bit to 'rush to climax', but needless to say the murders are connected and Tom Sr and his wife are able to come to grips with the fact that Tom Jr is lost forever.
The film is shot in a a somewhat sepia color when dealing with the murder of fifty years ago and remains dusty appearing through the present - not unlike the soil that has hidden the uncovered truths so well. The acting is fine, with some very fine cameo appearances by Johanna Cassidy as Tom Sr.'s mother and Jessica Chastain and Rose Montgomery as the feminine influences. The makeup artists have done the film a disservice as they try to age people fifty years as the film winds down: to say more would be to give away the ending. But the reason the film works is the commitment behind relating these tragedies on the part of all concerned. It is especially noteworthy in that it is the work of a relatively inexperienced writer and director.
Grady Harp
The film centres on a policeman's (Jon Hamm) search to uncover the truth behind the discovery of a 50 year old corpse of a child. It also interweaves the story of a young man (Josh Lucas) and his 3 sons as he struggles to support his family in 1950's America. The 1950's storyline in particular is dealt with extremely well but both story lines link well together throughout the movie.
I have never seen anything of Hamm's previous work and only Posieden of Lucas but was impressed by both actors who conveyed the sense of loss of a child impressively throughout. Lucas in particular was I thought outstanding. The children in the film were also impressive especially Jimmy Bennett. The rest of the cast had less to work with and the characters weren't fully fleshed out but this was probably due to the relatively short running period of the film.
Once it hits its stride (fairly early on) this film never lets go. I found it quite moving and disturbing at the same time and for viewers with children this film will hit home in particular.
Whilst it does have a few flaws, for a relatively low budget film this is extremely impressive.
Did you know
- TriviaScreenwriter Glenn Taranto wrote his first draft of the screenplay, originally titled "The Boy in the Box", in six days over a two week period. He was inspired by the famous unsolved case of "America's Unknown Child" aka The Boy In The Box. Working backwards Glenn created an original scenario detailing how such an unsolved crime might have occurred. Should anyone have any information regarding the real "Boy In The Box" case they are encouraged to contact the Philadelphia, PA Police Department.
- GoofsWe see the box being buried in concrete, yet when the box is being dug up it is just buried under earth.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Tom Adkins Sr.: My biggest fear is that when I do find him, what's left of us may not be enough. I haven't been able to forgive myself, and so I push my wife away. I can't even look her in the eyes, because every time I do, I see my mistakes. So I take the risk of losing everything. Not because I want to, but because I have to. Only then will I have the strength to go to my wife and ask her for forgiveness. And I have to believe that one day she will give it to me.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Cop Out/The Crazies/A Prophet (2010)
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,943
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,035
- Mar 14, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $7,943
- Runtime
- 1h 31m(91 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1