A Country Called Home

If Mary McCormack wasn't in the film, I probably would have left it at the library sale. I actually enjoyed the performances by the entire cast. Imogen Poots played Ellie Edwards, a Los Angeles aspiring furniture designer, who gets the dreaded phone call about her estranged father in Texas. He died as she trying to get there. She meets her grandparents for the first time. June Squibb did a great job playing Grandma. Mary McCormack's performance as Amanda is quite credible and believable. Mackenzie Davis' performance as Reno is quite a surprise too. The film handled the friendship between Ellie and Reno with class and restraint. The film was shot on location in Los Angeles and in Texas. The memorial service is unforgettable. Ellie spends the film trying to connect with complete strangers. She also tries to deal with the painful loss of her father.

And then they wrote a script and made a movie. Hardly a single tolerable character. Surely it was written and directed by Saturday Night Live. Things are really slow in this flick. It's like living inside of a coma. In fact, one of the characters wakes up from her diabetic coma to go have a burger and fries at the Dairy Queen and finishes off with a blizzard. If you hate the south, you'll like this movie.

It's really amazing that it took so many people to make such a lousy film. I gave it a one rating because the cinematography is actually pretty good.

A Country Called Home follows Ellie, A West Coast furniture designer who gets a call that informs her that her father has just died, she heads back to her hometown in Texas to deal with his death, she reconnects with her roots in ways she did not expect.

This film is very touching and relatable. It deals with themes of family and forgiveness. Ellie has stayed a distance from her father throughout most of her life due to his troubles with alcoholism, despite this, she goes back to Texas and reconnects with her family. She finds that in a way, she has let her father back into her heart. Regardless that town has still a dislike and his girlfriend struggling with alcoholism herself and causing trouble, she defends and still loves her father and does everything in her power to give him a proper goodbye. She also finally meets her grandparents and makes a new friend there, by the end of the film she has gained a new perspective on her life and is ready to move forward.

To me, the message of the film is that we all can overcome the trials and tribulations we face in life, as long as we have love in our hearts and focus on what really matters. Its very much a feel good film that will leave you feeling less alone in life. It's a beautiful indie film, not only because of the story but also the cinematography captures the beauty of Texas.

At first the slice of life indie drama "A Country Called Home" seems to be trying too hard to be indelible. But I found as I let this small town tale of self-discovery and lives recalibrated gently play itself out I came to understand what Director and Co-Writer Anna Axster is doing with her gentle story. That is, to not try to impress you as much as impress upon you what the different definitions of family and the path to one's destiny can be. Axster's is simply one of any number of takes on this tale. And in the end it is a most caring and enlightening journey to which we have been treated.

This is the first time I've seen the work of the film's star Imogen Poots. The strikingly beautiful young actress exudes a unique screen presence. Poots brings a naturally relaxed manner to her role of the rudderless twentysomething Ellie, who leaves a spirit sinking existence in L.A. to pay her respects at the funeral of an estranged father she never really knew. While once again it took some time, I gradually settled in to appreciate her easygoing way with this character cast adrift in a world weary with disappointment. Suffice to say that here is a gifted performer now situated solidly on my radar.

Finally, major props to Axster and her magnificent depiction of small town Texas. I grew up in The Lone Star State, and have personally been to all three of the humble hamlets collectively serving as the sleepy, if not at least somewhat sad, setting for "A Country Called Home". I could almost literally smell the air thick with the distinct scents of ranch field brush and oak trees, all the while being cast back to the oppressive heat and humidity inherent in this extraordinarily ordinary part of our country.

And, pardner, y'all best understand that these are memories just as mighty and everlastin' as the sweet sweltering Texas summer itself.