Bill’s wife died suddenly and quickly, and left her husband and teenage son devastated. She was the love of Bill’s life and the emptiness without her is unbearable. Trying to outrun his pain, he packs up his son and moves cross country to beautiful California where his son Wes attends and Bill teaches at a private school.
There, Wes (Josh Wiggins) will meet Lacy (Odeya Rush), a student haunted by her own searing pain, and Bill (JK Simmons) will meet Carine (Julie Delpy), the beautiful andsmart French teacher who couldn’t possibly fill the hole left by his dead wife. These women are the jolt of electricity they’ll need to venture outside their mourning and start to admit that life goes on. Sadly, though, it’s not quite that easy. Grief is complicated, and depression lurks behind it, ready to steal away one’s remaining parent.
This sounds like a downer but actually that doesn’t tell the whole story. There’s laughter coupled with the sorrow, and the two co-exist quite comfortably for two reasons. First, it’s a good script, grounded in reality where nothing is black and white, where even 
depressed people can retain a sense of humour, where sadness and happiness often coincide, are two sides of the same debit card (who carries coins anymore?). Second, there are some very humane performances, particularly by JK Simmons. Writer-director Kurt Voelker manages to respect each of his character by giving them each an arc of their own. He manages to traverse some shaky ground by transcending the genres and making a film that is uniquely his.
There’s a stirring masculinity on display, showing grief and depression in their many forms, which are sometimes more difficult to identify in men. The emotions are no less visceral and Voelker keeps them accessible, making sure that honesty is at the forefront, and that no one is identified solely by their loss. Sean will love the Pacific Coast Highway views from a Mustang convertible, and the rest of us can enjoy a naked performance from a great actor unafraid to be vulnerable in his tightie whities.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
nice to read about a good one.
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beautiful review Jay!
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Will make a note of this – I really like JK Simmons! Nicely reviewed 🙂
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I wasn’t aware of this one, but you’ve sold it to me. I’m gonna go check Netflix now.
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I couldn’t find it but then my Netflix app was being a bit odd yesterday and not loading pages properly.
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I couldn’t find it on mine, but I put that down to the UK not having it yet.
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Yes, sorry, we’re in Canada, and sometimes different countries have different selections, because Netflix likes to keep things confusing!
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Probably wouldn’t give this a try, but your review changed that.
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As a grief counselor in my previous life, I’m always happy to see films that deal realistically with the complex and layered feelings of loss. This sounds like it did an admirable job. 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
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Yeah, it’s not always pretty, and it’s certainly not uniform.
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Sounds really good this film, great review.
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Im intrigued , putting it on the list, thanks Jay
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Sadness and Happiness do seem to be two sides of the same…debit card. Haha (I see what u did there!) Their entanglement inspires me, and I love movies like this that explore both simultaneously.
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This sounds like it was really well executed and I like the sound of how it deals with grief and depression. Great review!
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Not a movie for when someone is feeling down. Sounds like a good one, though.
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Now this sounds like one I could sink my teeth into. Another one I’ve never heard of. Utah!
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Yeah, a lot of indie movies get lost in the shuffle, so it’s great to find them in Netflix if you have the patience to sift!
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J. K. Simmons has become one of my very favourite actors. Thanks for this one, Jay, I’ll have to catch this.
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