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From Amazon.co.uk
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 bus 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 energised 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 eight-year-old (Rory Culkin), sneaking him out to play empowering bar pool, later introducing him to the weaselly dad he's fantasised 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 humour 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
Product Description
Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney), a divorced single mother who lives with her eight-year-old son Rudy (Rory Culkin) in upstate New York, is overjoyed when her wandering brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) turns up for a visit. Terry is well-known for his irregular, untrustworthy nature and his habitual borrowing of money, but Sammy loves him dearly and soon notices that he is becoming a surrogate father for her young son. Thus partially liberated from her single parenthood Sammy embarks on a fling with her boss, but ultimately Terry rediscovers his capacity to let down his 'new family', and does so with dramatic consequences.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a tautly directed family drama with superlative performances by an outstanding ensemble cast. Laura Tinney gives a strong, well nuanced performance as Sammy, the put upon single parent of an eight year old boy. Jon Tenney gives a compelling portrayal as Tinney's stalwart, though dull, suitor. Matthew Broderick is terrific as Tinney's officious, insecure new boss with whom she ends up having a passionate affair. Mark Ruffalo gives an amazing performance as Sammy's sensitive, errant brother, Terry, who tosses a monkey wrench into his sister's seemingly well ordered life, throwing it into total chaos. Rory Culkin is wonderful as Tinney's quiet little boy, who believes his long missing father to be much more that he actually is.
The story takes place in a rural locale. The opening scene shows a car accident in which a man and a woman are killed. The next scene shows a law enforcement officer breaking the news of their deaths to a young girl who is babysitting her younger brother. The movie now goes forward in time. The brother, Terry, now grown, is returning home after a long sojourn away. Home is where Sammy, his sister, lives with her eight year old son. She lives in their childhood home. Sammy and Terry have their reunion, but it is not the one that they each dreamt of having.
What happens to them, when Terry comes home, is a rich tapestry of human emotions, which is deftly woven into a complex family drama. This character driven film is compelling, keeping the viewer fully absorbed, as the story unfolds. Well nuanced, memorable performances provide the icing on the cake. This movie was a veritable surprise and a most enjoyable one, at that.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By pointone
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
This is a truly great film about siblings from writer/director Kenneth Lonergan.
Brother and sister Samantha "Sammy" (Laura Linney) and Terry Prescott (Mark Ruffalo) are orphaned when very young and form a very close relationship.
We meet them in their thirties by when Sammy has been through a disastrous marriage and is bringing up her eight year old son Rudy (fine child actor performance from Rory Culkin). An up tight woman she shies away from genuine relationships but finds release in a casual affair with her manager at the bank, then is driven by guilt to confess to the minister of her church and is disappointed when he does not condemn her.
Terry is her opposite, a drifter that gets into trouble and spent some time in jail for violence, nevertheless he is a caring person that is always short of money. He believes Terry is stifling her son's development and this conflict between Sammy's extremely cautious upbringing of her son and Terry's belief in excessive freedom is a key element in the film.
A wonderfully written, directed and acted film (one can believe Ruffalo when he says in an interview "we became brother and sister during the shooting of the film"), also a great mixture of classical and country music.
Brother and sister Samantha "Sammy" (Laura Linney) and Terry Prescott (Mark Ruffalo) are orphaned when very young and form a very close relationship.
We meet them in their thirties by when Sammy has been through a disastrous marriage and is bringing up her eight year old son Rudy (fine child actor performance from Rory Culkin). An up tight woman she shies away from genuine relationships but finds release in a casual affair with her manager at the bank, then is driven by guilt to confess to the minister of her church and is disappointed when he does not condemn her.
Terry is her opposite, a drifter that gets into trouble and spent some time in jail for violence, nevertheless he is a caring person that is always short of money. He believes Terry is stifling her son's development and this conflict between Sammy's extremely cautious upbringing of her son and Terry's belief in excessive freedom is a key element in the film.
A wonderfully written, directed and acted film (one can believe Ruffalo when he says in an interview "we became brother and sister during the shooting of the film"), also a great mixture of classical and country music.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Belle76
Format:DVD
I was moved by this sincere glimpse of the love and psychological complexities of a brother and a sister who cherish each other fully, yet view, confront, and live their life choices quite differently.
All the actors do a great job in sketching the emotions, discernments, and frustrations in this particular story. The music enhances the depth and richness of both the narrative and the actors' performances.
Anyone who is in an multi-layered, stormy, and loving brother/sister pairing will feel very much engaged with this film.
All the actors do a great job in sketching the emotions, discernments, and frustrations in this particular story. The music enhances the depth and richness of both the narrative and the actors' performances.
Anyone who is in an multi-layered, stormy, and loving brother/sister pairing will feel very much engaged with this film.
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, touching, understated, great
Some friends recommended this and I'm glad I took their advice and bought it. This is a beautiful film - a character study that never hams it up or strikes a false note. Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2011 by Easy Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
i defy you not to love this film....
This is a really interesting US film, more on the scale of a European film (in a good way), concerning the domestic life of credible characters. Laura Linney is extraordinary. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2011 by poppins
4.0 out of 5 stars
Human drama at its best
'You Can Count On Me' is a modestly produced but potent drama about two siblings, who after the death of their parents in a car crash as children, become two very different adults... Read more
Published on 4 April 2010 by Ernie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Understated and beautiful
You Can Count On Me is a beautiful film concerning the visit of wandering younger brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) to his sister Sammy (Laura Linney). Read more
Published on 2 April 2009 by C. L. Foster
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is humour here too
Buried in this film's generally tranquil progress are episodes of humour which are more effective for being understated. Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2007 by Dr. R. G. Bullock
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect example of the genre
Before his play 'This Is Our Youth' became famous in the UK for attracting everyone from Jake Gyllenhall, Hayden Christensen, Matt Damon, Summer Phoenix etc to star, Kenneth... Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2004
3.0 out of 5 stars
Minor key movie.
You Can Count on Me was Oscar nominated & critically feted- watching it, it's hard to see what the fuss was all about. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2003 by Jason Parkes
4.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST SEE FAMILY DRAMA...
This is a tautly directed family drama with superlative performances by an outstanding ensemble cast. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2002 by Lawyeraau
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great performances, great film.
Kenneth Lonergan is a man with many influential frineds in Hollywood due to his flourishing career as a screenwriter par excellence. Read more
Published on 13 April 2002 by MR A R CRAWFORD
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just about as good as movies get.
This film is about the relationship between a pair of adult siblings who have an unusual bond. This bond has been fostered by a childhood which was scarred by their parents' death... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2002
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