Impressive debut feature, with excellent performances from a young cast (everyone is in the 12-18 range). A bit too writerly in places (particularly the long dialogue leading up to the Big Dramatic Event At The Heart of the Picture), and there's a ten-minute or so lull just after said Dramatic Event when it feels like clichés are going to seep in and ruin all the great character stuff the movie spent an hour building up. Thankfully, it recovers for a quiet and refreshingly understated ending. This is a writer/director to keep an eye on.
(And maybe I was just misreading the crowd, but it seemed like they didn't like it, at least not as much as last week's train wreck. Whatever*, Seattle.)
*From The Evasion-English Dictionary by Maggie Balistreri: "The minced oath whatever. Translation: Fuck you."
Where we saw it: film | We deign to rate it: outta 100