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Lou Taylor Pucci,
Tilda Swinton,
Vince Vaughn,
more...
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Mike Mills,
Mike Mills
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: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
: Comedies, Independent, Teen Comedy, Dysfunctional Families
: 96 min.
: English, French
: French
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A high-school senior finds that fate (and modern medicine) plays some interesting tricks with his personality in this dramatic comedy. Justin Conn (Lou Taylor Pucci) is a neurotic teenager who has a difficult time with his peers, especially Rebecca (Kelli Garner), a cute girl in his debate class with whom he is somewhat mutually infatuated. It isn't much better at home with his obnoxious younger brother Joel (Chase Offerle), his father, Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio), who is busy having a midlife crisis, and mother Audrey (Tilda Swinton), who's infatuated with one of her favorite TV actors (Benjamin Bratt). All this anxiety has to go somewhere, and Justin's manifestation of his troubles comes in the form of sucking his thumb, which makes him even more of an outcast. Dr. Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves), an orthodontist who seems to double as a new age therapist, treats Justin with hypnosis; meanwhile, the school psychologist decides he has Attention Deficit Disorder, and treats him with medication. Suddenly, Justin stops sucking his thumb and becomes an outgoing overachiever, single-handedly taking his school debate team to the state championship. But Justin's relationshop with his debate coach, Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn), becomes strained, and the boy tries to mold yet another new identity for himself. Thumbsucker was the first feature film from Mike Mills, who previously distinguished himself in commercials and music videos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Read GreenCine's exclusive interview with graphic designer, music video and commercial director Mike Mills, whose first feature is Thumbsucker. In a wide-ranging and candid talk with Jonathan Marlow, he recalls the challenges and triumphs, confesses to an obsessive love for one film and speculates about his wide open future.
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| Growing Up
by talltale
January 26, 2006 - 6:17 AM PST
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5 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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The more you get to know the various characters in THUMBSUCKER, the better you understand and appreciate them. A growing-up, coming-of-age drama that offers a different perspective, this lovely little movie is a quiet treat for filmgoers starved for real "family films." It demonstrates via one specific example how so many families have trouble understanding and dealing each other--and themselves.
Director and co-writer (with Walter Kirn, on whose novel the film is based) Mike Mills has done a wonderful job here. The movie builds well, from its opening scenes (which seem rather ordinary), to its middle, as the characters open up and begin to surprise us, to its wonderful conclusion, which should have you rooting for everyone--especially the sweet lead, played to perfection by Lou Taylor Pucci (who was also fine in "The Chumbscrubber").
Vincent D'Onofrio gives another of his unshowy, from-the-inside-out performances, and Tilda Swinton has perhaps never looked more beautiful nor seemed as utterly natural and normal--a real mom, even more so than in "The Deep End." Keanu Reeves and Vince Vaughn play against type and both do memorable jobs, as does Benjamin Bratt in his single surprising and revelatory scene. This movie's a lot subtler than most--which may account for why some viewers give up on it too soon. Don't. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.54)
113 Votes
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