Tumbledown (2015)

I knew nothing about this movie and initially saw just a few minutes, which left me wondering about the chemistry between Hannah and Andrew. However - once I sat down and watched completely through, I got it. Both characters have depth and Rebecca Hall kills it as Hannah. She's perfectly cast in every way possible. While they seem to come from different worlds, Andrew realizes that Hannah is his match in intellect and wisdom. I'm not a winter person, much prefer the warm weather, but found myself being drawn to the cold Maine climate that is such a part of this story. It's as if the frigid world provides a warmth to the grief and loss Hannah has experienced. There's a wittiness in the film, but again, also a seriousness to what the main characters are dealing with. This is truly a classic romantic comedy with some deep and thoughtful lines. Would like to have seen this on the big screen, but very glad I stumbled onto it anyway!

Fmovies: If you haven't seen Tumbledown yet, you are in for a treat. Rebecca Hall plays the widow of Hunter Miles, a fictional singer with a cult following. She has stacked enough wood for years of a comfortable widowhood--living among her husband's instruments and keepsakes in the lakeside cabin in Maine that they shared. She's forced from being a hermit by the brash academic (played by Jason Sudeikis) who appears on his European motorcycle to dig up biographical details on Hunter for his PhD dissertation. But Hunter's widow turns out to be more fascinating than the memory of Sudeikis' musical hero. And the rest is chemistry. We get to watch Jason Sudeikis and Rebecca Hall on a date at the town dump, at a family Easter gone wrong, and standing on a sheet of frozen ice surrounded by the crazy whale sounds of a thawing lake in the Maine woods. The rapport between Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis is riveting. Their banter is smart and funny. And Damien Jurado's haunting tunes give the movie a depth that reverberates for days to come. The film is gorgeous, moving and entertaining.

Tumbledown is that kind of movie which makes you feel "Oh! It's good. But it should have been better". You'd almost feel sorry for the entire cast because they have given such exceptional performances only to be let down by clichéd writing towards the end. But it still is a Dramedy worth watching.

Coming to the performances, there are absolutely no complaints here. I can safely say that Jason Sudeikis steals the show with his charm and timing. Rebecca Hall gives her best and suits for the role well. In fact we can watch the movie just for the leads' performances. The supporting cast does justice to their roles.

Verdict: Go for it!

Tumbledown fmovies. Following on the middling artistic and lacking financial success of "Sleeping with Other People", the uncompelling Jason Sudekis leads another mildly entertaining star-crossed rom-com. This time he spars with, falls for, leaves, returns to, you know the Hollywood romance do- se-do by now. This one brings more drama to the mix than the standard outing being it is centered around the likely suicide of a legendary but little-known folk singer. Speaking of singer, a major problem with the movie beyond Sudekis is the lack of music. The movie never establishes the genius of the deceased folks singer which would then explain why Sudekis' Hofstra professor would spend his time writing about it and a later revelation involving a missing track. The uneven plot never draws you so that you are not consciously aware of the underlying trajectory of the formula. It lacks interesting supporting characters putting more unneeded pressure on the leads. In short, not a bad film but not really enough here to make the outing worth while.

I was pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised by this movie. I found it a realistic portrayal of how hard it is to let go of the memory of deep love that is now gone and learning how to move on and sometimes failing and falling down, until suddenly you wake up and life unexpectedly opens up to something new and wonderful. I am surprised by the negative reviews. It is not a romantic comedy or a typical slick, fast paced Hollywood film. But it works as a touching, authentic slice of a life, portraying what loss really looks like and the beauty of love. The music was also really fantastic. A touching little gem.

'TUMBLEDOWN': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Indie rom-com/drama flick; starring Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis. The film tells the story of a widow, still coping with the death of her folk singer husband, who must deal with a New York writer; that comes to her small town looking to write a story on him. The movie also costars Dianna Agron, Joe Manganiello, Griffin Dunne, Blythe Danner and Richard Masur. It was directed by first-time feature filmmaker Sean Mewshaw, and written by Mewshaw and Desi and Desiree Van Til (both first-time screenwriters). I enjoyed it.

Hannah Miles (Hall) is still grieving over the death of her husband; a folk singer, who was somewhat of a celebrity in her rural Maine town. Her family, and friends, all think she needs to get over him and move on. That troubled healing is further aggravated, when a New York writer, named Andrew McCabe (Sudeikis), comes to town investigating the beloved musician's death. He's writing a book on the singer, and Hannah doesn't like the idea of it (at all).

I'm becoming a bigger Jason Sudeikis fan, with every movie he does! He's always funny, and he always picks quality projects too; the roles, he plays, always seem like real and relatable people. This film is no exception. I also like how he does a lot of lower-budget indie flicks too. Hall is great in this movie as well. She's definitely not as funny, but her performance is topnotch; and the two have beautiful chemistry together. It's yet another indie hit win, for Jason Sudeikis!

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