You Can Count on Me (2000)

You Can Count On Me starts with a terrible car crash that instantly orphans a little boy and his older sister. At film's end, that boy, now a grown-up nomad and ne'er-do-well, takes off by Greyhound after a brief reunion with his sister, who lives at permanent anchor in their unspoiled hometown. The sibling saga that unreels between wrenching collision and bittersweet separation celebrates the idiosyncratic ways wounded folk like Terry (Mark Ruffalo) and Sammy (Laura Linney) put one foot in front of the other, both energized and hamstrung by the knowledge that nothing is ever certain in the road-movie of life. During his visit, Terry roils Sammy's becalmed existence, mostly by "fathering"--for good and ill--her overprotected 8-year-old (Rory Culkin), sneaking him out to play empowering bar pool, later introducing him to the weaselly dad he's fantasized into a superhero. Sammy starts a torrid affair with her married boss at the bank (Matthew Broderick gives delicious bureaucratic smarm), and considers marrying her sometime suitor (Jon Tenney), sweetly dull yet dependable. The narrative peaks here are human-sized, elevated by gentle humor and clear-eyed faith in the existential importance of these intersecting small-town lives. Linney is simply superb as Sammy, wild girl gone good, involuntarily "mothering" every man in her life. An authentic original, newcomer Ruffalo gives his modern-day Huck Finn a drawling, James Dean delivery tuned somewhere between a screwup's whine and the twang of pothead wisdom. (Hard to think of another recent film that so deftly nails down the rich dynamics of everyday conversation--the starts and stops, circumlocutions, clichés, sudden veers into revelation and eloquence.) This is that rarity, an action movie of the heart: no explosions or epiphanies, yet everything evolves through the catalysts of character and experience. --Kathleen Murphy Amazon.com

Moments of truth slip through...

This really is an example of beautifully simplistic filmmaking. There are no real villians in this film, but there aren't any heroes either. What is so refreshing is that this movie is just about people. People that you know in your real life. Sometimes they are witty, stometimes they are wise and sometimes they do ridiculously stupid things because they don't know what else to do. These are the players in the film. It is set in a nondescript small town in New York and is pretty much about two siblings, whose parents died when they were very young, who are trying to pull themselves out of the rut that their lives are currently in.

Mark Ruffalo's character is a bad boy character, but the director doesn't make the wandering, trouble making loner such a beautiful thing. This guy really is lonely and he doesn't know who he is. His distate for conventional lifestyles and his rage towards those that question him are his biggest faults and in some ways his greatest strengths.

Laura Linney's character seems to have gotten all of the opposite strengths from the gene pool. She is a perfectionist and a mother. She works in a bank and lives a quaint, peaceful small town life. But she is lonely also and doesn't know why. She begins two relationships with men that she has no real interest just because.

The two characters almost seem to be needing what the opposite have. She needs a bit more rebellion and spontanaeity in her life. And he needs just a little bit more structure. In some ways this is found, in others it isn't. Kenneth Lonergan, the director, isn't making a movie about people overcoming obstacles to succeed in the end. He is making a film about the graduals changes that occur everyday in one's life and how sometimes one realizes how significant these moments are and sometimes one doesn't. August 23, 2008

Honest, Touching, Funny and Authentic

An amazing gem of a film. "You Can Count On Me" is an incredible story about loss, familial love, coping with one's own failings, and being alone. The acting is so well done, I was drawn into and held in the story. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo embody their characters so completely, the actors melt away. Matthew Broderick and Jon Tenney play equally engrosing support roles.

The film overall is artful and well-conceived. The soundtrack complements the sometimes whistful, sometimes brutally honest, sometimes playful tone of the whole film. The cinematography

Probably one of the most striking elements of Lonergan's movie is how true-to-life the stories maintain. The characters remind us of our own flaws: our inconsistencies (despite our efforts), our floundering attempts to cope with our lot and our failings, wrestling with somehow finding ourselves alone. The remind us of our own desires: to simply be happy, to love and be loved. And in the end, follow our truest sense of direction in life.

One of the best movies I've ever seen. THE best film I've ever seen about coping with being in an modern American family. February 26, 2008

what a amazing film

this film was amazing. as a actor it is so nice to see a film that truely captures the essence of a true experience. this film had my emotions everywhere from happy to sad. The performances are amazing. Mark is brillant and Laura Linny, you can not keep your eyes off her. Matthew Brodrick is always good and this is his best performance to date for me. the little kid is sweet and you know everything he is thinking. I highly recommend this film. Not a blockbuster but better. January 4, 2008

You Can Count on Me

This powerful, fascinating film examines how two very different siblings cope with a single, life-changing tragedy, and how this event affects their own interactions. Written and directed by Lonergan (who also plays a priest), "Count" depicts this complex relationship with a nuanced mix of humor and heartbreak. Linney received an Oscar nod for her portrayal of Sammy, but it's Ruffalo's intense performance as the younger sibling that really stands out. "Count" is an uncommonly wise and human story about those family ties that bind us all. July 30, 2007

Excellent family drama

Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo are two of my favourite actors, so seeing them together in the same film playing sister and brother is a rare treat. They are both spot on in their portrayals of, respectively, a single mother yearning for some excitement, and an unreliable drifter whose life so far has been a series of mistakes.

I've always thought that the 'family drama' type of film is very difficult for directors to get right. It is very easy for it to be too sickly-sweet or for the family being portrayed to be ridiculously dysfunctional. Luckily, You Can Count On Me has the perfect blend of comedy and seriousness, and the characters actions make sense in the context of their pasts and personalities. The film is also fast-paced and shot in a unique and stylish way.

The film plays like a series of everyday moments strung together. The main characters make poor choices and do morally reprehensible things, but you somehow find yourself rooting for them and hoping things work out OK. Terry (Mark Ruffalo) was a particularly interesting character, because he seemed incapable of being dependable or responsible. For example, he turns up late for a very important meeting although he has promised to be on time. It is as if he wants to sabotage his own chances of happiness - I found this to be very moving and true to real life. Rory Culkin, who plays the young son in the film, is also an exceptional actor and he manages to make a difficult role very believable.

I also felt the portrayal of Ron the priest was excellent. He was a sympathetic and non-judgemental character and he really added a lot to the film. I also thought the line that Terry says hits the nail on the head about why it is so hard to have faith sometimes: 'But I don't want to believe in something or not believe in it because I might feel bad. I want to believe in it or not believe in it because I think it's true or not'.

Overall, this is real gem of a film and I hope it gets a wide audience because it really deserves it. It is realistic and thought-provoking in many ways. Kenneth Lonergan deserves a lot of credit for writing such a strong screenplay and managing to direct an excellent film from it. Highly recommended.

**Spoiler Alert**
P.S. I loved the way the film title was used in the ending without the words actually being said. I don't think I've ever seen that done in a film before and it was a beautiful moment. July 15, 2007

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