Daddy Longlegs (2010)

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

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

The Safdie Brothers certainly served their apprenticeship. Their 2009 film "Daddy Longlegs" (aka "Go Get Some Rosemary"), is as independent and as close to 'cinema verite' as American cinema gets and its study of a deadbeat father's relationship with his sons is full of an improvisatorary feeling where the players don't so much act their parts as live them; we could be watching a documentary. There's no plot, just a series of nicely observed slices of life filmed on the streets of the Safdie's native New York and showing all the promise of early Scorsese. Where it falls down is in its lack of any kind of substantial drama not, of course, that great drama happens very much in everyday life but after a certain length of time people-watching can become a tad dull. What sustains the film is the superbly naturalistic performance of Ronald Bronstein as the father, (he was also one of the film's co-writers). A newcomer, it's almost impossible to say where Bronstein ends and his character begins. He's wonderful in the part but he's also the kind of man I would cross the street to avoid, lacking as he does any sense of responsibility. The kids, too, are excellent, again not so much 'acting' as simply playing extentions of themselves. The film itself comes over as a cross between autobiography and homage and is a little too personal for mass consumption. It's sufficiently good that I wish I liked it more.

Daddy Longlegs (2009) Directors: The Safdie Brothers 7/10 From the brothers who will later bring us the phenomenal "Good Time", Low budget handhelds create many laughs and what the f*#$& moments, Bronstein's performance impresses by managing to be appallingly appealing, Irresponsible non-father trying his best with his 2 weeks a year 7 & 9 year old sons, Indeterminate ending to a whirlwind ride leaves one feeling the same way. Gogyohka literally translates to "five-line poem." An alternative to the tanka form, the gogyohka has very simple rules. Five lines with one phrase per line. What comprises a phrase? Eye of the beholder- or the poet, in this case. #Gogyohka #PoemReview

I'd seen several short films by the Safdie brothers who made this movie as well as the their features The Pleasure of Being Robbed and Good Time. I liked all of them, but I didn't necessarily loved them. But I figured that this one would at least be worth watching, and boy was I right! From the very beginning it's wildly intriguing and entertaining, and it just keeps getting better. It feels so very real and very raw.In a lot of way it feels just like a John Cassavetes film, which is definitely a good thing. And it doesn't feel like someone set out to try to make a film in that style, but more like they just tried to make this raw, realistic portrayal of a very interesting character, and that was how it turned out. Almost like the Cassman did it himself!And the lead role, played by Ronald Bronstein, was seriously great and fun to watch. That guy should be in more stuff. He was perfect for the part and I'm guessing that it was probably written for him. It was honestly one of the very best performances I have seen in the last ten years. And it never lets up.Watch this movie if you can. You won't be disappointed. But if you somehow do end up being disappointed, maybe go check out something with Chris Pratt in it instead; that may be more your speed.

Let's face it. Some people are just plain too dim-witted and irresponsible to be parents. There. I just gave you the whole point of this movie, so you can save yourself the $8 On Demand fee and the time investment required to see it. Beyond that simple message, there is nothing else here. Nothing. No one is transformed, there is no hope that the protagonist will ever redeem himself, and if you react to the movie the way I did, you'll want to throw a brick through the screen in the hope that it will find the directors who wasted your time.Some may regard this as an interesting character study, but I found very little to like about this character, so I cannot recommend it. I will say the movie may haunt you a little; but, for me, even that was unsatisfying as on reflection I found very little of substance to hang onto.I just kept seeing everything from the point of view of the ex-wife, and I concluded that if this man had truly loved his children he would have left them alone. It is his own loneliness and need for affiliation that causes him to pursue them as he does, not any genuine love for the kids.And that is what is so heart-breaking. It left me disgusted, and little else.