Think of Me

It seems some people are rating the movie based on what they think of the mother. And in doing so completely miss the point of the film.

Clearly it is a film that doesn't use the usual music, or other goto's to make the mother seen 'romanticized' etc, purposely drawing light to the cold stark problems with the situations the kid is put through, and yet people upon seeing that the child is put into bad situation time and time again, and as a result they rate the movie poorly.

Poverty is about the lack of choice, poverty is about not having had role models in their lives to show them what good choices look like, poverty is about lack of education to help figure out better decisions, it is about never had opportunities to again gain a practical perspective, and poverty is often about mental health issues, about cooping mechanisms that seem to solve an immediate issue, but cause more problems long term, and poverty is about being looked upon with distaste, and judgement from people who care more about punishment than helping people. The people rating this film poorly because they dislike the mother or the situation for the child are completely missing the entire point of the film which is to draw awareness to the way that these situations often unravel in real life, this film does a great job portraying the complications, and the frustrations around these issues. And it clearly once again showed that people would rather punish the parent and the child along with them, then help them out of the situation, feeling somehow that 'they would get one over on them' if they didnt' suffer because of the parents choices. The parent was making horrible decisions, but she clearly loved her child, and by the attitude of anger and distaste for the mother, the child will often get sent from a mother who clearly is above all else, deeply protective and loving of her child, and then these same people criticizing the film will not bat an eyelash as CPS comes in and the child ends up in an abusive household for the child, recreating now an even worse perpetual cycle of poverty and now abuse. The end determination of what should happen in these situations, is instead of the state spending money to give to a foster family, they should determine that if there is no sign of physical abuse, and it is clear the mother for instance is deeply protective and wants the best for their kid, the solution at worst is find a way to help the mother get on her feet again, as long as they are not drug addicts, that is the best possible outcome. Enough with the judgements on the parent(s) that end up screwing a kid for life. Stop judging, that doesnt' help solve the issue, and start figuring out how to make that kids life better, and if the mother gets to make bad decisions and still end up being able to provide shelter and food for her kid, honestly, the world is better off for it. Tired of the hate, and anger, that ends up just making the kids in these situations live horrendous lives, and the people forcing that to happen pretend it is the parents fault entirely, when they are supporting a state that is pushing the foster home above a loving but flawed parent.

Okay, we get it. She smokes!! There's no need to show her sucking deeply on a cigarette every two minutes. It kinda gets tedious after a while, but whatever. Not a deal breaker. Tight budget? Fine! Let's eat out all the time and hire cars to take us to the end of the block. Huh? Our lead is covincing for the most part, but then she lapses into some ridiculous and irrational break from character that derails the momentum. But she's clearly a tremendous talent and a very beautiful woman. A few supporting cast members ring exceptionally abusrd. But her desperation comes across as genuine. People simply do not impost themselves to virtual strangers in ths manner. Not giving specifics to avoid spoilers so hope you understand. The daughter? Kind of an ungracious snot most of the time and not what you'd call an endearing child. And like so many movies, the makers of this movie never miss an opportunity to slip in the obligatory black characters. Again, not a deal breaker but it happened enough that I noticed. This movie somehow seemed twice as long as it actually was. Our lead actress eventually reveals herself to just be an awful person. Awful! She does these horrible things that aren't necessary in the least. With a half hour to go I'd had enough. The storyline unravels from here on out, unfortunately. Too much to endure but I slogged through to the pathetic conclusion. Far too many closeup shots of people eating. That's absolutely disgusting. We know people eat. Everyone eats. We don't need to see it and we definitely don't need to hear it.

For the most part (and, honestly, with very few emotionally redeeming qualities) this is a dismally sombre and even sad film. It's not a bad film. It's just dreadfully sad. I have to admit that I haven't seen very much of Lauren Ambrose since the end of "Six Feet Under." One thing I learned from "About Sunny" is that she's most definitely grown up. She put on a very powerful performance in this, as single mother Angela, struggling to make ends meet - and generally not succeeding very well - as she seeks to raise her daughter Sunny (played by a young actress named Audrey P. Scott.) This is a desperate situation. It's a classic example of being caught between a rock and a hard place. Angela has a job, but it doesn't pay well. Sunny has a learning disability (dyslexia?) but Angela has no resources to help her with it. She has to take a second job at night, meaning she leaves Sunny alone a lot. She's not getting child support from Sunny's father, she makes dreadful decisions as she becomes more and more desperate. The whole movie (which starts out on a pretty down note) just seems to be a downward spiral. The question is: downward from what? How much lower could it go?

I don't need to go into a lot of details, except to say that - again - this is a sombre and very sad movie. For most of its run time it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere, other than documenting Angela's struggles, but in the end Angela is faced with a gut-wrenching ethical dilemma. Without saying what it is, I'd say that as a viewer you're torn at the end. I think she made the right choice, but what does the future hold for her and Sunny? How will it get any better? Or are these two just on a one way trip to nowhere.

But - sadness aside - this is a good movie. Ambrose's performance is powerful and she draws you into Angela's life. You feel sorry for her. Perhaps none of this desperation is her fault, and you know that she wants to be a good mother to Sunny. Even when she lashes out, you know that it's out of frustration, and not because of any lack of love for her daughter.

With an interesting lead character, and a good performance form Lauren Ambrose in the role, this is definitely worth watching. It's just not a movie you'd want to watch on a day when you need a pick-me-up! (7/10)

About Sunny (2011)

A slice of life realistic story about a young mother and her daughter living on the edge of subsistence in Nevada. Lauren Ambrose (who was Claire in "Six Feet Under") is terrific, not overplaying a slightly hardened but still sympathetic character. The story is mostly about how things go a little bit wrong, not through stupidity (as in some movies like this where the leading female makes huge mistakes) but through some smaller misjudgments.

The daughter is terrific, too, and so we see a tension and tolerance in her relationship to her mom, who clearly loves her but is always a bit short on patience. The one real twist, which is a bit forced into the plot, is a relative of a co-worker who has some designs on the girl. This, too, is played with some subtlety, though the idea is just unlikely and sudden enough to force you to go along with it. It's not inevitable.

Even so this other plot is a small part of what really happens, with the growing feelings you have for the main two people. It's clearly a low budget indie film, and is produced by Ambrose, so you can see some smart attempts at moving her career forward. And she pulls it off with a heart wrenching, cinema-verite story that is maybe just a hair to close to the truth for many people to make it comfortable. How easy it is to watch more terrible tragedies (from "Goodfellas" to "Pulp Fiction") and how hard to see what might be true (here and in "Julia" which makes for a weird, imperfect parallel).

Surprisingly solid.

A most depressing saga which examines the minutiae in the bleak life of a sad and pathetic woman who abuses not only herself but especially her young child. It's difficult to fathom whether or not the film might be attempting to romanticize in some sort of bizarre manner such a degrading existence as it offers no resolution but rather leaves the viewer wondering, as the film concludes, whether or not these two lives will continue to spiral down their seeming path toward self-destruction. And while the cast puts in creditable performances, they fail to overshadow the grim situation portrayed nor are able to engender any real compassion for the characters by holding out any possibility for some sort of positive resolution.