For Ellen

Why would you do that? Why would you filch the ending from an all-time classic when it doesn't even make sense in your own story and it's anyway only going to underline how vastly inferior your film is?

It's strangely maddening to me. But at least, at the end of a hopelessly pointless film about a sad guy drifting around entirely uninterestingly, it reminds us that slice-of-life character studies like this can actually work.

For Ellen feels like the combination of two short films, both roughly thirty minutes in length, that were each injected with fifteen minutes of filler. The first short film (or act), running more-or-less forty-five minutes long, tells the story of Joby Taylor (Paul Dano), the lead singer of a second-rate rock band, battling for a divorce suit with his wife out of court. This leads to multiple mental breakdowns of Joby, many lawyer meetings discussing settlements and entitlements, and long shots focusing on Joby's often sulky, bitter face in close-up. It's long and tedious. The second short film is predominately centered on Joby and his six-year-old daughter Ellen (Shaylena Mandigo), who he learns he'll lose entire custody of if he signs the current settlement at hand. He takes her out for a few hours, awkwardly asking her about her likes and dislikes, and simply trying to get to know her personally, before he potentially cuts off any and all communication with her. It's sensitive, extremely well-done material.

Paul Dano is a serious and convincing screen presence, considering his age and how actors usually mature with time. Dano hit the ground running with his first major performance as Dwayne in Little Miss Sunshine, a teenager who decided to take a vow of silence until becoming a pilot and then discovered devastating news. His roles have treaded the line of bravery, assuming the role of either a conflicted rocker, a trouble but optimistic teen, and even the bold voice of reason. His Joby here is, in his own way, an anti-hero; we're not very fond of him because of his "deadbeat dad" status, yet we can see his act of reconnecting with his child as an audacious and daring one. Since he is one of the only characters we meet and focus on during the film, a lion's weight of its quality rests on his shoulders. His performance is often a roller-coaster of emotions for the viewer, however, what somewhat waters its quality is the writing, which is ponderous, vague, and largely forced impressionism.

For Ellen falls into the category of an indie film that is smart for not trying to do too much, yet kind of dumb for not doing enough. It plays everything too safe. The long close-ups of Dano, many of them unsteady, wobbly, and victim to a shaky camera, try to provide us with sentimentality and intimacy during traditional scenes which a film like this doesn't really need then. The scenes with Joby and Ellen are much more structured and stable, in terms of camera angles, yet if there's any time they should be unsteady and rather imperfect, it should be then; not at the beginning of the film, when the story is brewing and characters are being born.

The father-daughter dialog between our title character and her father is simply remarkable. So remarkable I wish I could seriously recommend watching the film from the forty-five minute mark till the end. If there's one film that at least gets props for doing one thing completely right and beautifully poetic, it's the naturalistic dialog between Joby and Ellen. It's all about the incoherency and the small details during these sequences. Take note of how many times Joby says "um," or "like," or stutters when asking her a simple question. He doesn't know what to say and what not say. Would you? Could you have a solid conversation with your six-year-old daughter when you never see her and barely know anything about her beyond her fast name? It'd be horrifying and depressing for the both of you. Writer/director So Yong Kim realizes this and completely amplifies what could've been a contrived, tiresome addition to an already plot less film.

Now if only this one small detail or something like it could make the first act work as powerfully well as the second one, we'd have a stronger, more complete picture on our hands. If there's one other thing that bothers me about For Ellen, though, it's the "make it up" ending it attaches on there as a means to informally end the film with the idea of you, the viewer, can decide how the story of the characters will continue after these checkered events.

It's a pity I can't, technically, recommend the entire film. Say this was actually two short films combined into one. The first one would get two stars for being overlong, dry, and rather aimless. The second one would get three and a half stars for being naturalistic, believable, and entirely realistic. By combining them you get two and a half stars. That's about right in my book.

Starring: Paul Dano, Jon Heder, and Shaylena Mandigo. Directed by: So Yong Kim.

For Ellen (2012) follows a musician who neglected his personal life to follow his dream, who then ends up in a fight with his ex-wife for custody of his young daughter. This film was beautiful, and although slow, I was constantly engaged due to Paul Dano's flawless and heartbreaking performance.

This film is an intimate portrait of a man with no idea what he wants in his life, who feels truly hopeless. The protagonist (Joby) is deeply flawed but I still felt sorry for him. Paul Dano was incredibly and this film really shows his range. All the acting was very good, and I loved the interactions between Joby and his daughter as they started off very awkward but you could tell he was trying his best. The dialogue was strong as well and kept me invested.

The pacing was slow and steady, with a very mellow tone that made the film genuinely sad. It also felt brutally realistic and I'm sure will resonate with a lot of people. The ending feels refreshing whist also being melancholic and leaves a lot up to the audience's interpretation.

The themes were very strong and were a big part of what made this film so heavy and impactful for me. It really shows the negative elements of the music industry too, and how it doesn't leave time for family.

Lastly, the cinematography and visuals were quite simplistic but this worked well. The setting felt isolated, and added to the sadness and hopelessness the main character experiences. There were a lot of great long, slow shots that invoked a lot of emotional for me personally.

Paul Dano is one of my favorite younger character actors and I have decided to watch all movies with his presence - luckily, it is not impossible as he is selective in taking roles... I like his versatility as well as courage to accept roles not arousing compassion or expanding fame.

Joby Taylor is a de facto loser with personal and self-assertion issues without any ideas how to solve the status quo, thus, the pace is slow (often protracted) and events depicted are trivial, amplified by gloomy winter weather and interiors. Dano is constantly on screen, often alone, so the script is more suitable for a stage. Topics like children custody and personal coping are touchy, but it is still not enough for even an independent movie. As for the ending, I got ambivalent feelings as well.

To sum up, not bad ideas and splendid starring, but too bleary and daily grind.

Some movies are for fun. Some movies are for adventure. Some movies are art and are actually a "film" For Ellen is art. Yes it is slow, yes it has few words and little action. This film is about emotions that do not need laughs and action to be nurtured. Dano is approaching Oscar level acting at a very young age. I can't wait to see his skills grow and deepen. This movie is sad because that is what the characters are feeling! It is powerful and emotional and really well made. I don't have much else to say except that a lot of movie goers expect to be surprised with original twist and plot turns, but are not impressed with deliberate quality. This film is deliberate and delivers quality.