I really wanted to like this! But it just doesn't build enough of a relationship with the audience before asking us to invest in its sorrow. Rob Nagle gives an effective enough performance as a heartbroken dad; Jennifer Carta is mostly bland and uncommitted; the young girls are adorable and natural- the best acting overall. If anything pulled at the heartstrings, it was via these two; their youthful ease was delightful. A gorgeous setting on the beach (Mandy & Patrick Fabian's actual home in CA!), as well as an apt metaphor: the unceasing tide and continuum of time- ready or not. Unfortunately, this time and tide prove trite. The direction felt timid; happenstance; only one toe in that beautiful surf.
