Little Men (2016)

What can I say about this film except it is the "Emperor's Clothes". Why do I say this? There is nothing to it, except the potential to be average. Some of the acting was good, some of the plot lines were OK but are never developed past the superficial. There are 3 areas of disappointment. 1) The relationship between the boys has no emotion or energy, it seems false so we don't engage. The reference to an absent father and the pain to the boy was a hook to his future failure, which was too obvious and shallow. Reinforced by the truly awful father and son scene where the father states that hard work and effort isn't worth it if you have the talent, what rubbish, talk to anyone who has reached the top of their profession, hard work as well as talent gets you there. 2) What really was the relationship between the dressmaker and the grandfather? Half hinted at and yet we are meant to be emotionally drawn to her plea to stay and not pay the going rate. Really? 3) What was the director trying to do with this film, it definitely wasn't about the relationship between the 2 boys, it wasn't about the relationship between father and son, present or absent,nor about families,stay at home husband with working wife, struggling immigrant entrepreneurs. Sorrow, loss, sex, growing up, getting old, nothing, was developed or built on! There was never a point when you emotionally engage with the film, it was slow and said nothing about friendship, love, loyalty, sorrow, duty, growing up or the central core of the film, coming of age and leaving behind childhood.

Fmovies: Greetings again from the darkness. There is a lot going on in this latest from writer/director Ira Sachs, and every bit of it provides some commentary on the basic everyday life struggles faced by normal folks. There is also a continuation of the ongoing NYC vs Brooklyn "friendly competition", as well a reminder of the downside of gentrification.

Mr. Sachs and his frequent collaborator and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias kick off the story with Greg Kinnear's Brian awkwardly exchanging greetings with Paulina Garcia' s (so terrific in Gloria, 2013) Leonor while the son's of these two share an equally awkward meeting. Leonor is the long-time tenant in the dress shop located below the apartment where Brian's recently deceased father resided.

Jake (Theo Tapitz) is an aspiring artist who doesn't easily make friends. Tony (Michael Barbieri) is a brash, fast-talking kid who is a bit more street wise and outgoing. The two boys quickly bond Â… while at the same time, the parents begin a quiet battle. Brian's sister (played by Talia Balsam) demands her fair share of their father's estate through higher rent on Leonor's dress shop. It turns out their dad never raised the rent despite the number of years and the developing neighborhood. Kinnear's wife Kathy (the underrated Jennifer Ehle) tries to play peace-keeping negotiator so that the boys' friendship is not affected. As is often the case, the kids handle the situation better than the adults.

The film's best scenes feature the two young boys Â… a blossoming childhood friendship that is all too rare on the big screen. If the boys weren't so severely impacted, the adult interactions could almost be white noise. Themes of money vs love, greed vs emotion, as well as recurring and various instances of rejection, all play a part in this multi-faceted story. Examples of rejection include a girl rejecting a boy, Brian's rejection as an actor, and the multiple rejections in the negotiations for the shop. Mr. Sachs has a real knack for putting real people in real situations that result in difficult decisions.

All of the acting is top notch, including Alfred Molina in a small role as Leonor's attorney and adviser. But it's the boys – Tapitz and especially Barbieri – that elevate the film. Watching the boys grow closer despite the all-too-close conflicts reminds a bit of the friendships in Rob Reiner's classic Stand By Me. Young Mr. Tapitz already has a few short films under his belt as a director, and Mr. Barbieri is certain to get many more opportunities to flash his on screen talent.

American philosopher William James said that, "Reality, life, experience, concreteness, immediacy, use what word you will, exceeds our logic, overflows, and surrounds it." This statement is especially true for children whose goals and dreams are subject not only to the real problems they face but are in part determined by their parent's ability to handle their own life. Ira Sachs affecting drama, Little Men, looks at life from the point of view of two young men on the cusp of adolescence whose friendship is threatened by a family squabble that has no easy solution. Co-written by the director and Mauricio Zacharias, the film follows on the heels of Sachs' 2014 Love is Strange, the story of a gay couple and how they are forced to vacate their New York City residence as a result of gentrification, a theme that plays also role in Little Men.

13-year-old boys, Jake (Theo Taplitz), a non-observing Jew and Tony (Michael Barbieri), who goes to Catholic school, are drawn together when Jake's parents, Brian (Greg Kinnear) and Kathy (Jennifer Ehle), move into an apartment in Brooklyn vacated by the death of Jake's grandfather. The apartment is located above a dress shop owned by his grandfather's long time friend, Chilean seamstress Leonor (Paulina Garcia, "Gloria"), who has been paying a lower rent as a result of their friendship. The boys possess exceptional artistic talent. Jake is a painter who hopes that his portfolio will land him in the LaGuardia School of the Performing Arts, even as his drawing of yellow stars against the background of a green sky is dismissed by his middle-brow, middle-school teacher.

Compared to the sensitive Jake who keeps to himself and has few friends, Tony, an aspiring actor, is outgoing with excess energy to burn, a dynamo whose best scene is a back and forth exchange with his drama coach, an exercise in letting go of restraint and reaching for full self-expression. Speaking rapidly with a Brooklyn accent, Tony, who wants to join Jake in the LaGuardia School, puts on a good act of being on top of things but the sadness stemming from the lack of a father in his life is visible. One is reminded of the Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri's reflection that, "the need to create art is often connected to a need to heal something." Brian informs Leonor that he has to triple her rent because his acting roles bring in little money and he does not want to have to completely rely on his wife's income. Though he tries to reach an amicable agreement, his position strengthens Leonor's intransigence and encourages Brian's sister (Talia Balsam) to push for her eviction in order to bolster the family's income. As their families bicker, Jake and Tony try their best to stay away from the conflict, riding their roller blades and scooters around the neighborhood with joyous abandon to the energizing score of Dickon Hinchliffe suggesting that this moment of their youth will last forever. Unfortunately, however, their parents only dig in their heels, Leonor snarkily asserting that she was closer to Brian's father than he was and Kathy tells Leonor that she is trained in conflict resolution though she does not offer any such resolution.

As Jake and Tony's friendship becomes strained, they embark on their secret weapon - the silent treatment - but the children's weapons against their more powerful parent's ends, as it often does in heartfelt tears. Little Men is a thoughtful and moving film that contains some of the year's

Little Men fmovies. I just saw "Little Men" last night at the Chicago Critics' Film Festival. Wow, what a touching and wonderful film! The New York Writer/Director of "Little Men" was in attendance and spoke before the screening, where he thanked one of the local Chicago producers, which was Fathers Rights' pioneer Jeffery Leving. He is the top family law attorney in the nation. Leving is a huge advocate for the powerful positive force of paternal involvement in children's lives. There are countless statistics that show the positive effects of father involvement, which is what I suspect why Leving got involved in this movie.

I mention this, because this great written and directed film highlights the contrast of a family unit where there is father involvement in one family, and father absence in the other. Tony hardly sees or has contact with his father in the film, because his father lives in Africa. The lack of Tony's father being present in his life negatively affects him in this film. Jake, the other boy, has his dad in his life, played wonderfully by Greg Kinnear, and is able to get the support he needs from his father in the hope of achieving his dreams. Tony, who so dearly wants a father in his life even reaches out to Jake's Dad to give him advice and support for his future. This film highlights the positive effects an involved father can have on their children. Bravo!

I always wanted to write film reviews, and this powerful film has moved me to do so. Go see this film!

Had this movie been more about the boys and less about the hard-to-like adults, it could have been something pure, fresh, exciting. Unfortunately, it turns out to be nothing but a constant skidding into the margins of a plot that never gets past the original idea.

Was this filmed with the sole purpose of indulging the viewer with a superbly shot, colorful urban reality? It gains ground there. Maybe we were supposed to pour out our emotional responses on account of Greg Kinnear's, admittedly very talented, ever-downcast writhing eyebrows? Because that would be another minor win for Little Men.

Alas, I don't think either of those points carry any sort of validity so, all in all, it all wraps up into a sad 'no'.

"The neighborhoods changing." Brian Jardine (Kinnear) is a struggling actor who has just lost his father. He heads to Brooklyn for the funeral and to deal with his fathers estate. He discovers that a small business was costing his father money, and is unable to continue the same deal. This causes tension with him and the owner of the business, which is further enhanced by the fact that Brian's son and the son of the owner are best friends. This is a really good movie that makes you think. You really struggle to decide who is in the right and can see both sides equally. The dynamic of the adults and the kids relationships are really fleshed out and are the true heart of the movie. That said, the movie could have been really good but it stayed a little monotone and the end just kind of happened. When you watch this you will see what I mean. Overall, the acting and writing are good, but it felt a little flat at some parts and really just came to an abrupt end, which hurt the movie a little bit. I disappointingly give this a B-.