Halfway film that helps to establish the films central relationship. Up until this point, the story kind of plugs along at a really slow pace. Once this moment hits (revolving around a birthday party), the film finds something pretty special.
The story follows a struggling single mother and her 8 year old child as they have to take care of her sisters estate. Arriving as strangers to this town, a very cluttered house, and a quiet, they meet the quiet, elderly man who lives by himself next door. As the 8 year old son lingers in the shadows of a mom who is barely hanging on, he begins to gradually strike of a friendship with the man next door.
The performances are really subtle, but once this relationship begins to establish itself, the chemistry between the young boy and the elderly veteran emerges as something very genuine and honest. They are by far the best part about this film, which leans into a very understated script.
It's the symbolism of the driveways though that hits the hardest. In some sense you have a young man who has his whole life ahead of him. On the other end you have a man who is nearing the final years of life. Separated by driveways, these journeys find a way to intersect through shared expeience. Both are lonely, and both find needed companionship in the other. And both are able to breathe new life into these shared perspectives from their side of the journey.
Trust me when I say, if you are someone who is touched by these kind of multi generational stories you are guaranteed to find a few tears here, even if the story itself doesn't blow you away. And that is a testament to the films heart, which it has in spades.
