Père & fille

Based strictly on content, "Fathers & Daughters" is not the type of movie I would usually see. However, after watching the trailer and seeing the star power of Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, and Aaron Paul, I decided to give it a try. While the plot of this film can be a bit shaky at times, one almost doesn't realize it because the quality of the acting invokes such strong emotions all the way through.

For a basic plot summary, "Fathers & Daughters" opens with writer Jake Davis (Crowe) struggling to cope with his life after the loss of his wife in a car accident. Fortunately, he still has his lovely daughter Katie (Kylie Rogers), but even that is threatened when his seizures and medical problems begin. Flash-forward 20-some years later, and Katie (Seyfried) has grown up to become a successful social worker...who is also as promiscuous as they come in terms of love life. However, when a new little girl named Lucy (Quvenzhane Wallis) is put in her care, and then Katie meets Cameron (Paul), she begins to be confronted by the demons in her life that have caused her so much pain.

I wish I could say that "Fathers & Daughters" is a "best of all-time" type of movie, but the fact is that it isn't. The writers/producers/director make some head-scratching choices about how they play the narrative out, and there are a few key plot points missing that probably needed to be included to make this a "tighter" film. So, this is really more of a "niche" film built on emotion.

But boy oh boy, though, does that niche ever get filled perfectly here! I'm not usually one to get overly emotional during a film-watching experience (at least visually), but "Fathers & Daughters" moved me to tears on a few occasions. It truly is that powerful of a film, as it deals primarily with the relationship between a father and daughter (something that isn't always seen in these types of films). It would have been very, very easy for this film to turn into a typical tearjerker, as all the elements for it are indeed present. Fortunately, although not without a few hiccups along the way, it ends up producing natural instead of contrived emotions, which I have a great deal of respect for. All the emotional moments in the movie feel earned.

In large part, I believe that is due to the incredible acting performances in the flick. It has been awhile since I've seen a movie where every performance was this spot-on. Crowe really commits (and when that happens, he's always golden), Seyfried is (as usual) perfect for her role, and Paul is absolutely killing every role he takes these days. Even the youngsters, Wallis and especially Rogers, bring the emotion perfectly.

So, while "Fathers & Daughters" may not rise to elite heights due to a few storytelling difficulties, it has more than enough acting and emotion to be a solid film. It uncommonly moved me during my viewing of it, and I will always remember the experience because of it. Even if this doesn't look like your "cup of tea", you may want to give it a chance, as more than likely you'll be moved as well.

Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfriend, and Aaron Paul do a fantastic job with the sorrowful story of a father and daughter and the relationships their within. Several other reviews call for boxes and boxes of tissues. I did not have that experience at all. How this did not get more nominations escapes me.

"A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own."

I literally have no words for this movie (and I should be writing like 10 lines, right). This kind of love, father's love and the power of Katie's pain when she's standing next to that jukebox...That can't be described. I cried my eyes out, because I will never be ready when that moment comes, in real life. The song in the end was just an outstanding finishing. Summary: Haven't seen better and scarier movie in a long time.

If you come away praising only one thing from this movie, I'd be willing to bet that it would be Kylie Rogers' performance as Russell Crowe's young daughter. She gives a genuinely affecting performance for a girl her age and although Crowe himself needs no help here as he puts in a brilliant showing of his own, he's all the better for her presence. They played off each other so well and the film was much more enjoyable whenever they shared the screen. Amanda Seyfried was her dependable self but this kind of role is easily within her wheelhouse so don't expect to be blown away by her.

The film itself has a nice flow to it when considering the run time and although it dips into the cliché pot a couple of times, I found the screenplay just fresh enough that I would say I enjoyed it overall. Although the directing wasn't anything to write home about I do believe that he showed a delicate and subtle handling of the subject matter which is to be commended. The score is also quite wonderful.

Overall, a solid 7/10. The performances are the reason to see this one.

Greetings from Lithuania.

Fathers and Daughters" (2015) is a movie with superb cast, one of the best ensemble of actors in recent memory. All of them did a good job. Directing was also solid, as cinematography, settings. I liked the story, which is kinda beautiful and inspiring. But on the other hand this movie needed a better script. The are like 4 stories in this movie actually, but not one of them is very engaging. Script was sometimes cheeze - i wanted to roll my eyes over the screen, but great actors managed to say some lines with straight faces. It tries to have some moving moments, which unfortunately didn't moved me. It is a very good looking movie and while it lasted i enjoyed, but after it was over i know i will forget this movie very quickly, i doesn't have lasting impression.

Overall, "Fathers and Daughters" is a nice and enjoyable movie which could have been great with more tight script. It's running time 1 h 50 min can be sometimes draggy, because some story lines like with the little girl which finally gets adopted didn't work. But overall this is very nice movie for one evening. By the way i was shocked when i learned it was rated R. Trust me there a lot of movies which should have been rated R instead of this one. This is sometimes beautiful movie but kinda empty.