Being Flynn (2012)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Being a compulsive completist of Ms. Moore (or basically any other prolific thespians), one is destined to face some meh-worthy titles in her immense body of work, BEING FLYNN unfortunately fits that category.Directed and written by Paul Weitz, the story is based on the true story of Nick Flynn (Dano), a young wannabe-writer works temporarily in a Boston shelter for homeless people, who is contracted by his father Jonathan Flynn (De Niro), for the first time after 18 years and later, Nick comes across him again in the shelter, Jonathan, a taxi driver and self-boasting poet and writer (in fact, he humbles himself to be just one of the three greatest American writers ever, guess who are the other two?), vexingly brags that he is float on the fringe of being discovered for his yet-to-be- finished novel, experiences a downward spiral in his recent life and is plunged into the abyss of vagrancy.A platitudinous plot of father-son's from-bitter-to-sweet reconciliation will duly pans out after their unplanned reunion, but before that, Weitz promisingly juggles with two paralleled narrations from Jonathan and Nick separately with considerable verve. Both contend to be the more proficient raconteur, Jonathan is the apposite re-imagination of what will happens to Travis Bickle after TAXI DRIVER (1976), still a cabby in his twilight year, ever so discontented, prejudiced and delusional. And Nick, seems to be stuck in a limbo reckoning with his future and relationships, who attempts a casual relationship with his co-worker Denise (Thirlby, whom by the way, seems utterly uninterested in their romance) after cheating from his air-hostess girlfriend (a cameo from Waterston), and is unable to pull himself together from his fond memories of his late mother Jody (Moore, underused in her single-mother cliché with subtle frustration and taedium vitae gnawing underneath her calm facade, it is a sheer crime that she doesn't share any scenes with De Niro! What are you thinking, Mr. Weitz?) and an oscillating resolution to shut Jonathan completely out of his life.As thrilling as to see De Niro return as a cabby with the unabated fervour (one of his most committed work in ages) and he even delivers another bombast in front of a mirror as a patent homage, woefully one finds his Jonathan comes off as overbearing, insufferable and nuances are extremely wanting, a radical, sexist, homophobic, racist, family-deserter, coward, egoist, it is a clumsy tactic to make him that abhorrent and hope empathy will smoothly ensue later. Granted, it seems courageous for Flynn to insist on an unadorned depiction of his's own father (since this kind of character does exist, everywhere), it is ups to Weitz that a certain dramatic license is required to smooth Jonathan's edges, not at the least because eventually, it is all about a heartwarming and hard-earned second chance of a long-lost family bond, in lieu of a justified broadside against an irresponsible father and an incorrigible daydreamer.Dano looks quite self-conscious in scenes shared with De Niro, but excels in rendering Nick's dithering frame-of-mind towards his personal dilemma. The depiction of the working conditions in a shelter dealing with hobos is both minutely re-enacted and consciously sanitised, dark corners are left undisclosed, lest it will avert many a fastidious viewer, that can be regarded as an encapsulation of the film as a whole, a character study could go digging into something more contentious and darker (for example, what is Jonathan's attitude about his abandonment? He never betrays anything even remotely contrite in front of his son), that's why the end result is neither consistently exciting nor awfully mawkish, nondescript seems to be the right word I'm searching for here.

If you're looking for a light drama or comedy, don't choose Being Flynn. But if you want to see the masterful acting of Robert DeNiro and Paul Dano, and you're up for serious subject matter, this is an outstanding film. The script does not sugar-coat any aspects of addiction or homelessness. It tells it like it is. The key characters are multi-dimensional, and I found myself rooting for them at times and wanting to kick their butts at other times. Besides the obvious subject matter of addiction and homelessness, the film also address the challenges we all have dealing with whether we are or are not our parents -- or at least looking at parts of ourselves we don't like that we also don't like in our parents. And the feelings of guilt and shame experience by Nick over the death of his mother are palpable. The only thing I found disconcerting was that fact that it was supposed to be set in Boston and, with the exception of one recognizable Boston location, it was so obviously filmed in New York.

How much we inherit from our parents doesn't necessary make us become who we really are. Some might take pride into extending the tradition while others might fight against any residue of similarity to prove otherwise."Being Flynn" is a beautiful drama based on a true story of survival and search for one's self. It is tragically positive as we grow with the character of Paul Dano, very nicely played, to discover new possibilities are always possible when you put your mind to it, navigating through your troubles and finding strength and determination within yourself. De Niro is absolutely amazing as an estranged father who thinks highly of himself, in spite of all his shortcomings. It's a rewarding experience that delivers a good message of the importance of finding out who you are and validating your existence.

Like many men of his generation, Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) is defined by his relationship, or lack thereof, with his father, Jonathan (Robert De Niro). Jonathan is a racist, a homophobe, and a drunk and he abandoned Nick and his mother (Julianne Moore) when Nick was only a small boy, communicating with his son only through letters. The only bonds these two share are blood and a preoccupation with writing. But despite his disgust for the man, Nick never can quite shake the need to live up to his father's image, even if that image is completely fabricated. After nearly twenty years of silence, Jonathan reaches out to Nick in need of a favor and almost out of curiosity more than anything else, Nick lends a hand and suddenly finds himself interacting with a man he both hardly knows and knows all too well. Before long, Jonathan has been forced to take up residence in the homeless in which Nick works, forcing the younger Flynn to take a long and painful trip down the path to internal peace with both his father and himself.Being Flynn is based on the memoir of the real-life Nick Flynn, who worked as a social worker in a Boston homeless shelter in the late '80s where he ended up under the same roof as his father. The tale of the Flynns is a complex one to say the least and it is presented here in a style that pulls no punches. Indeed, Being Flynn is much more difficult to watch that I expected going in. Jonathan Flynn is, for lack of a better, family-friendly term, a miserable old coot, a holdover from a different time who has never adjusted to the world around him. On top of his vocal racism and homophobia, he is thoroughly arrogant in the worst way possible: he's never accomplished anything with his life and yet he expects others to treat him as if he has. In Jonathan's mind, there have only been three great American writers and he is one of them, despite never having had a work published. Worse yet, a life of poor choices and weighty entitlement have only aided in the speed with which his brain is deteriorating, leading Jonathan to lash out violently in both word and action. In short, he is an impossible character to love and even to feel pity for him proves difficult. In the midst of this stands Nick, torn between the childhood need for a father and the adult reason that tells him to kick the man to the curb. He simultaneously hates his father and desires his approval. This dynamic creates a tense, painful atmosphere that made it a challenge for me to sit still without squirming. To be honest with you, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.On the one hand, it could be argued that director Paul Weitz's goal is to stick the viewer squarely in the middle of the awkward and terse central relationship and force the audience to engage. In this way, Being Flynn is a great success. But on the other hand, being this close to the fray, so to speak, also forces the viewer to react to Jonathan in a personal nature. For me, this led to the overwhelming feeling that Jonathan would deserve whatever fate befell him and stripped me of any emotional attachment I might have had to his plight. Being Flynn should be relatable to anyone who has ever struggled with his or her relationship with a parent but instead I found myself sympathizing some for Nick and feeling nothing beyond "good riddance" for Jonathan.That's a shame, too, because this is without question the most significant role De Niro has taken on in well over a decade. This might be his best performance since 1996's Sleepers and it is a fantastic, hopeful sight to see him go back to something worthwhile. Despite nearly 15 years of utter mediocrity, I am still of the opinion that when given a reason to invest, De Niro is one of the five best actors in the industry, only he keeps taking awful role after awful role. He does an excellent job of fully committing to Jonathan, creating a memorable character, even if it is memorable for being a wretched human. Likewise, Dano is very good in his role and brings a lot of realism to the part. In the hands of another director (not necessarily better hands, just different), Being Flynn might have turned into a showcase piece for Dano, for which I could see a world in which he would garner award attention. As it is, however, De Niro overshadows him and perhaps this keeps Dano (and Nick) from reaching his full potential. Being Flynn is an interesting film and one that is almost as tough to grade as it is to watch. At times it makes a push to point itself toward "great" but more often than not I felt it floundered despite the best efforts of cast and crew. Please see my reviews at thesoapboxoffice.com