Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Review of FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS: Shifting Storylines

February 2, 2016



Jake Davis was a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist who had to raise his young daughter Katie on his own. However, his challenge was made more difficult by a debilitating neurologic disorder, worsening financial woes and intrusive wealthy in-laws. 

20 or so years later, Katie Davis is working as a social worker helping kids with problems. Behind her dedication to her wards and her cheerful disposition, she is afflicted with a shameful addiction. When she meets aspiring writer Cameron, has Katie finally found the love she had long denied herself?

he list of actors was very impressive, with no less than five Oscar winners and nominees among them: Russell Crowe of course is in the lead role as Jake Davis. Jane Fonda, Octavia Spencer, Janet McTeer and Quvenzhané Wallis play minor characters who could have been played by any character actor, to be completely honest. Admittedly though, their names do lend a certain prestige to this project.

Russell Crowe is really very good as a dramatic actor, especially in those solitary contemplative moments of his. Those scenes depicting Jake's seizures were realistically played. I must admit some of those supposedly "cute" moments of child talk with his daughter could be cringe-worthy. To her credit, the 11 year old Kylie Rogers played young Katie very well. It was a delight to watch her refreshingly natural performance. 

It was hard for me to separate Amanda Seyfried from her virginal ingenue roles in "Les Miserables" and "Mamma Mia". She played her flawed character well, managing to elicit audience sympathy no matter how disgusting her condition was. Aaron Paul takes a break from his tough guy image ("Breaking Bad" and "Need for Speed") to play a romantic character and did very well in his gentle role. 

Italian director Gabriele Muccino employed a technique of telling the parallel stories of the child and adult Katie Davis flashing forwards and back in time. This could be confusing at first but you will get the drift. The more difficult issue for me was the rather schizophrenic nature of the script. The child Katie story, which we see prominently in the poster, had a story with general appeal. However, the adult Katie story unexpectedly had very disturbing aspects which may disappoint, or even turn off, those who thought this was a wholesome family drama. 6/10.



19 comments:

  1. I've seen the trailer of this one and it really tugs the heart.

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  2. Thanks for the honest review! I like movies of this genre. I will definetely watch it. If not for anything than just for the stellar performances of the oscar nominated actors!

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  3. Pretty good lineup of actors. This sure sounds like a pretty emotional movie but a good one at that. I'd love to watch it. Thanks for sharing your review. Keep it up!

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  4. Mainly I am for sci-fi and action movies but this one looks good and would like to watch. The starcast is stellar and tht is USP of this movie. Thanks for the review.

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  5. This sounds like a good movie for single parents. It's a great line up of actors too.

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  6. It's sad that the movie wasn't as good as it was advertised but the story seems so strong and interesting :D

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  7. It seems like a star studded movie. I guess the flash forward story telling made the plot lines complex.

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  8. It looks like an emotional movie bonding between father and daughter. Would love to watch it.

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  9. you made me curious about what's the adult katie's story about! i don't intend to catch this in the cinema, so please tell me?

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  10. Despite you full of praises, your rating of 6/10 make me wonder if I should be watching this. Maybe I might catch it if I have friends who want to watch it too...

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  11. I'd love to watch any father-daughter stories and all of them will make my eyes wet. Dads are such amazing men who will do anything for their darling daughter...

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  12. watching this kind of movie is an emotional draining, crying baby day for me. lol. I will still watch this inspite you rated this 6/10

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  13. Thanks for sharing this review. It kind of emotional movie I like but too bad i think this movie will not be screening in my country.

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  14. I'm not into super emotional movies today so I'll probably be bored with this. A 6/10 rating doesn't tempt me either. Thanks for the heads up.

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  15. I don't think I've ever heard of this movie but now that you're reviewed it here, I'll be looking for it. Sounds like a movie I would watch.

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  16. Russell Crowe acting is very natural, especially in drama. Like for example his acting in the movie NOAH, so love it!

    This will be another great movie for Russell.

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  17. Love both Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried! Indeed, they are great actors. Too bad, the story seems like it didn't do so well. That made me a bit curious as to what happens in the movie.

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  18. The poster does show a wholesome family drama, so I might be disappointed. I was expecting a more enlightening story rather than a disturbing one, but hey, I might give it a shot.

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  19. An interesting movie - it looks a lot like a dram from the poster. But family relationships involved ups and downs, wonderful happy moments as well as some involving tears. Interesting review!

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