Like Sunday, Like Rain

This drama paints a striking portrait of Reggie (Julian Shatkin), a wealthy and neglected twelve-year-old prodigy with the maturity of a middle-aged man; and Eleanor ( Leighton Meester), a broke ex-musician in her twenties recently out of work, boyfriend and home, who lands a job as Reggie's au pair for the summer in Manhattan while his mother (Debra Messing) travels overseas. Written and directed by Frank Whaley, produced by Uri Singer, and breathtaking cinematography by James Jones.

This film took a very different, almost romantic approach with a charming, artistic, sensitive yet domineering child rather than the traditional spoiled brat who hates the nanny. The two hit it off right away. Eleanor naturally accepts his maturity and treats him as an equal when she realizes that trying to be the grown-up in the relationship is pointless in the company of a genius. In many ways, Reggie takes better care of her than she does of him.

The conflict doesn't stem from the relationship between these two unlikely friends, but from their personal lives. This could have been why it felt a bit lacking in conflict overall, because no major problems arise between the two main characters. However, this blossoming friendship is where the unexpected bulk of the humor comes from, with witty and surprising dialogue between these very different but equally troubled characters learning how to co-exist.

Several things were set up or talked about that were never paid off, which underplayed the conflict and there wasn't enough of a resolution. Rather than showing how the characters have grown or been changed and strengthened by one another, the whole final act kind of feels like a montage of shots of them missing each other while trying to go back to their previous lives.

Very good acting, Julian Shatkin is phenomenal, the film is worth watching for his performance alone; not to take away from the rest of the cast. Leighton Meester is very natural in her role, Debra Messing is quite funny as an unjustifiably stressed-out woman whose normal routine includes going to the spa and on exotic vacations; and Georgia Ximenes Lifsherr is hilarious as Eleanor's best friend Silvia. Even Eleanor's parents who, while not in much of the film, manage to stay memorable with their hostile quirks. We weren't very impressed with Billie Joe Armstrong's performance as Dennis, Eleanor's boyfriend. His style was pretty over-the-top and childlike, very "acty," not terribly believable. Overall film score: 9/10. Here's the breakdown:

– Story: 8/10 — Characters: 10/10 — Acting: 9/10 (would be 10/10 if not for Billie Joe's performance) — Cinematography: 10/10 — Soundtrack: 10/10 — Most Lacked: Conflict & Character Arc

I enjoyed very much this story: the encounter of Eleanor and Reggie.Leanore needs a work and a place to stay, Reggie is a solitary music prodigy, who lives quite alone and he has had troubles with his former caretakers.Then appears Eleanor and little will grow a friendship: both are musicians and then a relationship with a lot of tenderness and affection. This film is also about self-improvement: Eleanor will discover again her pleasure to play music. The performances of Leighton Meester and Julian Shatkin are really very good.

Julian Shatkin did quite well playing a preteen savant named Reggie, considering his age, but writer/director, Frank Whaley, let him down. The role would have been more believable had Whaley given him a wider emotional range (and, in my view, it's the director's job to coax the writer into writing each character equally well - funny that the director did not have that conversation with himself as the writer!). From the start of the movie, the boy's isolation is palpable as his mother plans to leave him on travels. (Debra Messing plays her well, but the part is limited and is only consequential in that it shows how emotionally deprived Reggie was.) He "snaps" at his friend at one point, as he put it, but compared to the frustrations of dealing with adults and children who rarely understand him or his choices, there was not enough emotion, particularly not enough anger. I feel his character loses a certain amount of aliveness because of it.

In great contrast, Whaley was able to figure out Eleanor's (the nanny's) emotions, and Leighton Meester was in turn able to play those emotions brilliantly.

After the movie ended, I attempted to flash back to moments where Leighton had not played her role authentically, and could not find any such moment. That's how great her acting is. The fierceness of her initial confrontation with her boyfriend was placed into context by our understanding of her family that followed. A beautiful young woman emerges from the initial mess, and we quickly find that she possesses advanced maternal instincts toward Reggie, supporting him exactly as he is, with all his awkward brilliance, even as he bends her to his wishes along the way. Her character is no pushover and she has her own plans, caring for her own soul as well.

Overall, the film is well worth watching, as it will move you, and you may even understand what children need a bit better. They need love. Leighton Meester clearly has that love in her, and her performance is a credit both to her and to Whaley. Yes, both actress and writer/director got Eleanor exactly right.

Reggie is a highly intelligent lonely 12 year old boy living with is overwhelmed mother in a mansion in New York. He doesn't have a lot of friends and seems bored to death with life. Eleanor is a 20 something from a poor background who just broke up with her loser boyfriend. She stumbles into the "live in" job of being Reggie's nanny while Reggie's mom goes to China for a few months. Reggie ditches the plan for him to attend camp during the summer and Reggie and Eleanor spend the summer together and well... develop strong feelings for each other. Though a little slow sometimes I enjoyed this very much. The actor that played Reggie was wonderful and like a 35 year old man in a 12 year old's body. Leighton Meester was quite good too. It is a simple, but good story, of people and emotions. With a bittersweet end to the story. I really wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to this when Reggie is 20.

10/10 Masterpiece. Some are calling this melancholy, but I think bittersweet is a better word. Above all, it's a story about a 12 year-old music prodigy being played by a c. 12 year-old acting prodigy. As good as child acting has gotten, few if any could have pulled this off as well. What's the significance of 12? It's that age where you're as mature as you're going to get before the onset of puberty. But what if your emotional maturity and profound awareness outstrip your physical growth? It's about resigning yourself to your solitude, until.... The result is a bittersweet gulf between two otherwise kindred souls. This isn't about dramatic friction, it's about something distinctive, enigmatic and fleeting. It's like playing a beautiful tune on a cello in an empty swimming pool with good acoustics. It's like Sunday, like rain.

Maybe the best "child" performance ever.