I found this film to be well done.
The film is told thru the eyes of the oldest son Jack, age 12, chronicling his family's life for the year after his family moves to Oakland from the east coast after his mother dies. We see his family trying to cope in their own way thru growing up and living life.
We see Jack's father John working nights and seemingly be more interested in being the neighborhood clown to the local kids than being a parent. The father's heavy drinking seems to add an extra burden on Jack of having to look after his younger brother like take him to his first day of school.
This eventually starts taking its toll on the family - John loses his job and his former in-laws take custody of the grandchildren. Jack seemingly is under stress feeling the strain all of this has taken on the family. The kids return home to their father. The film seems to take an unnecessarily dark turn with an unstable neighbor. The father stops drinking and becomes more of a good father to his kids.
The film I found slowly paced in some parts, though very well acted.
The film is told thru the eyes of the oldest son Jack, age 12, chronicling his family's life for the year after his family moves to Oakland from the east coast after his mother dies. We see his family trying to cope in their own way thru growing up and living life.
We see Jack's father John working nights and seemingly be more interested in being the neighborhood clown to the local kids than being a parent. The father's heavy drinking seems to add an extra burden on Jack of having to look after his younger brother like take him to his first day of school.
This eventually starts taking its toll on the family - John loses his job and his former in-laws take custody of the grandchildren. Jack seemingly is under stress feeling the strain all of this has taken on the family. The kids return home to their father. The film seems to take an unnecessarily dark turn with an unstable neighbor. The father stops drinking and becomes more of a good father to his kids.
The film I found slowly paced in some parts, though very well acted.