When I watched the trailer for this film, I had high hopes. After having watched the film, I strongly believe this film very much benefitted from having an incredibly strong cast; although the narrative was pretty much a recycled epic on 'second chances'.
The moment Wayland and Dolores' characters locked eyes in that church; I was hooked. What a beautiful scene. The last scene, outside the dive bar; I could understand where Wayland's character was coming from, him, understanding the gravity of his situation and what he was actually trying to allude toward. In my mind, he eventually stayed with the family. The final sequence with the entire family in awe of their mermaid mother swimming across the "dive bar" and the cutting to the title card? chefs kiss
Roger Ebert brilliantly sums up the film.
"It may not be a drama that one could always call “genuine,” but the leads push through the tropes to find the real beating hearts of their characters without ever being showy or exploitative. They are deeply empathetic to people like Wayland and Dolores, the thousands of people out there who right now may be putting one dream away as they try to come to terms with the present they never expected to have."
When I watched the trailer for this film, I had high hopes. After having watched the film, I strongly believe this film very much benefitted from having an incredibly strong cast; although the narrative was pretty much a recycled epic on 'second chances'.
The moment Wayland and Dolores' characters locked eyes in that church; I was hooked. What a beautiful scene. The last scene, outside the dive bar; I could understand where Wayland's character was coming from, him, understanding the gravity of his situation and what he was actually trying to allude toward. In my mind, he eventually stayed with the family. The final sequence with the entire family in awe of their mermaid mother swimming across the "dive bar" and the cutting to the title card? chefs kiss
Roger Ebert brilliantly sums up the film.
"It may not be a drama that one could always call “genuine,” but the leads push through the tropes to find the real beating hearts of their characters without ever being showy or exploitative. They are deeply empathetic to people like Wayland and Dolores, the thousands of people out there who right now may be putting one dream away as they try to come to terms with the present they never expected to have."
