I am writing this mainly because of what I read from two other reviewers who clearly don't watch these kinds of films. What the director has done here is no doubt more complex than it may first appear. I can see the usual action movie addict not liking this film because it does require a brain to contemplate, and I'm not saying that in some pretentious manner but saying it because there is a lot more going on here than you can see if you aren't in the mood to see something unfold without the usual big, obvious plot points. I saw a comment on Amazon stating it was "slow" and they gave it one star, which is simply ridiculous. I have seen 100's of indie films and this moves better than I'd say 80% of them.
At first you get to know the lead, J.T., and you aren't made to necessarily like him. He's a little unstable, odd and maybe a racist but you can't blame someone like this guy given his upbringing so stop being judgmental people. The trick is we are shown what he is, not some "save the cat" version of a studio character. Look up the book if you don't know it. J.T. is what he is, it's that simple. If you need more, then you are working from programmed expectations that people like Sony and Warner Brothers have drilled into your head.
Sara, his love interest, is also much more complex than some simple girl from a little house in the country. She is what he needs and nothing more, but how complex that can be! Is anyone more complex than what your wife or kid needs? The film moves well after we see these two lovers make plans to operate a used monkey-shaped amusement park ride at the beach. The director didn't seem to care about this plot device and I suspect he was forced into using something conventional like this so the film could seek out distribution easier. I would go so far as to say this could have been made almost silently and without convention but for the fans of non-studio fare, we know how those movies are treated and this path isn't very practical for many filmmakers. I think this film ties together enough conventional movie "standards" that the general public like so much and my my mom could even like it, but it allows me to enjoy it on another level and go along with the wink the director is probably giving us. The meat of this film is his use montage and it is done very well. The ending couldn't really be that much better and no, I did not see it coming.
Big nods to the camera work, shot selection and sound design as well. The sometimes odd casting keeps it surprising in a good way.
