I have liked both main actors for a number of years, Dianna Agron when she had a regular role on the TV series "Glee". She always seemed to be a realistic, authentic actor and she is here. And Church since I saw him in "Sideways", wreaking havoc in the California wine country. Incidentally, each of them is listed among the producers for this movie.
It begins with Agron as Maggie showing up, after a very long trip, to a dilapidated home in a heavily wooded area (filmed in Oregon), driving down a narrow, dirt road. After a few attempts at the front door and getting no response she starts to back up her car. Looking down at her phone for signal she bumps something, looking back it is a man and a shopping cart of his items. She greets him with "Hi, Dad."
Thomas Haden Church is her dad, Loyd. They are very familiar with each other, mutual respect but no warmth, no hugs. We immediately wonder what the story is. This small movie is about their stories.
Loyd is an engineer living a secluded live, we get no hint of how his career went. He is now obsessed with what he thinks are his signal contacts with alien spacecraft. Maggie has arrived unannounced, mainly because Loyd has made it hard for anyone to find him or contact him. But in flashbacks we see the two of them had a very happy and engaging life together as she grew up. And he still had her hand-drawn and colored "Slam Dunk Tuesday" book from her childhood.
I really like this movie, it is all about relationships and how we deal with our inner conflicts. Agron and Church are both at the top of their acting games in this movie. I enjoyed it as a good story, but enjoyed it even more for the two actors.
It was also nice seeing scenes of the gorgeous, rocky Oregon coast. At home, streaming on Amazon Prime.
