You Can Count on Me

x One can characterize You Can Count on Me as a small/big film. The minimalist formal aspect, relying on a few locations typical of a small American town, which represent a family house, a local bar, and a few similar places, serves merely as accompanying scenery for a plot that also doesn’t have breathtaking peripeties but follows one small family drama. Director Kenneth Lonergan relied heavily on the strength of the performances. Indeed, whether it's the pleasantly down-to-earth Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo as estranged siblings, the director himself in a small role as a reverend, or the absolutely excellent Rory Culkin (from Signs). All of them literally drive the film forward, and the director doesn't overthink the storytelling. Thanks to the good flow of individual situations, often adorned with the subtlest humor, and the content of the film itself, this unassuming yet very impactful work effortlessly flows like water and leaves a clear mark in the viewer's mind. Its impact will resonate with me for quite some time. (12.07.2005)