The Greatest

THE GREATEST is a small film, quietly made in 28 days by first-time writer/director Shana Feste. The story/script is so unusual and touching that she was able to gather a rather extraordinary cast to bring this delicate story to life. It remains amazing to many of us that while the audiences flock to the gigantic CGI big noisy flicks, little jewels such as this film go completely unnoticed. The only hope is that enough people see this film now on DVD that that both the message of the movie and the quality of the acting and production gain the attention THE GREATEST so justly deserves.

Without introductory remarks the film opens with a brief prelude of the love between two (just graduated from high school) youngsters who after their first encounter with love pause on the drive home to attempt to make their feelings into words and BAM - a truck plunges into them and the boy Bennett (Aaron Johnson) is killed while the girl Rose (Carey Mulligan) is spared. The camera takes us rather abruptly to the graveside where the grieving parents Grace (Susan Sarandon) and Allen (Pierce Brosnan) and their young drug addicted son Ryan (Johnny Simmons) stare blankly into the hole that has been placed in the middle of their lives. None of the family copes with the death well: Grace can't stop talking and crying about Bennett and searches for a way to find out how Bennett spent the last 17 minutes of his life (that time between the accident and his death) to the point of attending to the truck driver (Michael Shannon) in coma at the local hospital, awaiting his recovery to learn about those 17 minutes; Allen is unable to sleep and tries to cope with the tragedy by not allowing mention of it in his home; Ryan, now on frequent tests to see if he is drug free, attempts to relate to a group therapy session of kids whose siblings have died.

Into this dysfunctional crumbling decimated family comes Rose, three months later, pregnant with Bennett's child, seeking refuge from a mother who is an addict. She is invited to move in, despite the fact that Grace loathes the idea and thinks Allen is merely trying to resolve the grief he has ever faced by attaching to Bennett's only girlfriend. The remainder of the story reveals how each of these injured four characters gradually interact and by bearing their personal grief with their own life problems manage to find a place where they can recover together.

The acting is superb as one would expect from such a talented cast: Carey Mulligan again shows us that she is an important emerging actress; Susan Sarandon allows us to see and understand the degrees of near insanity that grief for loss of a child can distort a life; and Pierce Brosnan proves he is a first-rate actor, managing a difficult role with great sensitivity. The rest of the cast is also excellent in very minor roles - Jennifer Ehle as an ex-lover of Allen, Aaron Johnson and Johnny Simmons as the brothers, and Michael Shannon as the driver of the truck who gradually awakens form his come to make Grace face some truths. As for Shana Feste, she is a strong artist and we should be seeing more beautifully crafted stories from her.

Grady Harp

Except for the baby ,the movie will remind Italian cinema buffs of "La Stanza DeL Figlio" and the part of Ryan is close to Conrad the young brother of "ordinary people" ;like in the contemporary "rabbit hole" each of the parents desperately searches for solace:the mother tries to talk to the other injured driver to know the last words of her son (whereas Nicole Kidman,fascinated by a comic ,wants to believe that in parallel universes ,her son is happy);the father tries to live again,goes to the movie theater with the pregnant girlfriend,attends the echography whereas his wife quickly leaves the room "if you lose your dog,we're not given a puppy!" The cast is excellent ,particularly Pierce Brosnan,cast against type :he and his younger son seem to have overcome the pain,but when they finally break down,their despair and their tears are deeply moving.The flashbacks are short and effective ,particularly the last one which is also the end of the movie and which is not a goodbye but a hello.

Grace (Susan Sarandon) and Allen Brewer (Pierce Brosnan) are devastated when their son Bennett (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is killed. He had stopped in the middle of the road to romance Rose (Carey Mulligan) when they get hit by Jordan Walker (Michael Shannon). Grace is obsessed with her son's last minutes with the criminal Jordan waiting for him to wake up from his coma. When a pregnant Rose shows up at their door, Grace is furious and disbelieving. Allen is more supportive of the homeless Rose. Bennett's black sheep younger brother Ryan (Johnny Simmons) struggles to deal with his family and he finds Ashley (Zoë Kravitz) in his support group.

The greatest part is the actors. There are some aspects that feels awkward. Grace's obsession is very obsessive. Her relationship with Rose is strange. It speaks to a dysfunction before Bennett's death. Carey Mulligan is enchanting and Pierce Brosnan is terrific. Aaron Taylor-Johnson doesn't fit the school star role. He's more of a geek. This is a sudsy soap that has plenty of family melodrama that is elevated by the first class cast.

The Greatest, starring Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, and Carey Mulligan (An Education), is a relatively unknown movie by a first time director (Shana Feste) that is nevertheless quite good.

Brosnan and Sarandon are married and play the grief stricken parents of two teenage boys, one of whom dies suddenly in a horrific traffic accident at the very beginning of the film. Sarandon is excellent and demonstrates she is a superior actress in her portrayal of a mother grieving I would almost say to the extreme. She is haunted by what happened to her son, by the fact that he stayed alive for 17 minutes and that she was not there to help him. She simply cannot get over the loss and resents her husband for moving on so quickly. A very poignant scene occurs when he offers her a bell, a sort of tool to help her with her grief, and tells her to ring it each time she thinks of their deceased son. She takes the bell from him and starts ringing it- non-stop. This and many other moments were extremely sad, showing how people cope with loss in very different ways.

Things get even more complicated with the early appearance of Carey Mulligan's character, the girlfriend of the late young man, and her surprise announcement. This leads to even more sadness and hurtful reminders for the mother, but also a certain easing of the pain for the father, which inevitably results in great tension between the couple. Sarandon gets especially furious, distressed and jealous when, trying to reach her husband during a break down, she finds his phone turned off and learns subsequently that he had gone to the movies with the young girl. The scene escalates so much with an almost silent force that Brosnan picks her up and throws her fully clothed into the ocean, to awaken her and make her see that her anguish is unreasonable and causing pain to the rest of the living members of their family.

The younger brother, appearing almost indifferent at first, succumbs to his emotions in the second half of the movie. The father, who keeps a cool demeanor and tries to hold the family together through his strength also finally collapses and interestingly, Sarandon picks up where he left off and comforts him, telling him that their son did not suffer. The whole family and their links are very credible and Brosnan astonished me by being particularly realistic.

Even if this movie is almost painful to watch due to the difficult subject matter, it is very well acted and written, making it extremely emotional and powerful. It ends well so do not be too afraid, but if you are a crier, a tear or two will definitely be shed.

My rating: 7.5 For more reviews please check out http://paulinasmovies.blogspot.com!!!

This is not a "feel good" movie, but its feelings are true. The story follows a family (mother, father, brother) of a young man killed in a car accident in the first scene of the movie. Their lives are jumbled up by the introduction of the son's (brother's) girlfriend. I thought all of the actors turned in fine, powerful performances. Even more impressive is that the writer/director of the film was a first time filmmaker. That she was able to get such a marvelous cast in her first film is amazing. This movie reminded me of "Ordinary People," updated for today. Of course there are differences, but it's the same genre.

Although I recommend the movie, know that it's kind of a downer. I have a feeling it won't do well because these days people want movies that are more of the "feel good" variety.