What Comes Around

I happened to come across "What Comes Around" on Hulu. Having no idea what it was, I decided to check it out. It had a routine plot (a girl hooks up with a boy who isn't exactly what he seems), but a twist saved it from being a total washout. Even so, it seemed like not much happened in the movie. Not terrible - there were some intense scenes - but an hour later I felt like I hadn't gotten anything out of the movie.

It's probably worth mentioning the nepotism behind the movie: director Amy Redford is Robert's daughter, while star Grace Van Dien is Robert Mitchum's great-granddaughter. Summer Phoenix is the younger sister of River and Joaquin.

Roost is an uncomfortable film to watch, so there's your warning! The story centres around the relationship of three people: Anna, the 16 year-old falling for a guy she met online played by Grace Van Dien; Beth, Anna's mom played by Summer Phoenix; and Eric, the guy Anna talks to online played by Kyle Gallner. Just with that very minimal description of the film, I'm sure you can already sense some of the drama that ensues.

The film is absolutely uncomfortable, as was it's intention. There were many 😬 moments on my end, and it was evident that many people felt that way too. Grace and Summer are a good mother-daughter duo, sometimes overacting, but overall good. The real stand out in the film is Kyle Gallner; he was fantastic!

The film explores trauma, more specifically unprocessed trauma and how it can affect the lives of those around us. If this triggers you at all, maybe this movie should be a pass.

Definitely a provocative and twisted story, Roost was a film I picked just because it suited my schedule, but I am incredibly glad I was able to see it.

Greetings again from the darkness. Not long ago, cable movie channels were filled with late night flicks that were easy enough to watch, and even easier to forget. Unfortunately, that description fits the second feature film from director Amy Redford (daughter of screen legend Robert Redford). Scott Organ adapted the screenplay from his own play, "The Thing with Feathers", and the title of the film has been changed ... it played the 2022 Toronto Film Festival as ROOST. It's one of those times where some individual pieces are better than the film as a whole.

Grace Van Dien ("Stranger Things, CHARLIE SAYS, 2018) stars as Anna, who is on the verge of her 17th birthday. She has been secretly online chatting with an older "college boy" named Eric. In a virtual 'meet cute', they read Emily Dickinson poetry to each other and talk for hours. Since he lives 900 miles away, the two have never met, but in typical teenage fashion, Anna says "he gets me." As an unexpected birthday surprise, Eric (Kyle Gallner, THE FINEST HOURS, "Interrogation") shows up at her door and drops off a thoughtful present. All of this is happening as Anna's mother Beth (Summer Phoenix, sister of Joaquin and the late River) announces her engagement to her cop boyfriend Tim (Jesse Garcia, QUINCEANERA, 2016).

The proverbial 'stuff' hits the fan when Anna introduces Eric to her mom. Not only is Eric a bit older than he let on (and the college story was a fabrication), his aw-shucks and overly apologetic demeanor don't seem to charm anyone except Anna. But more than that, there's a twist here that causes a cosmic shift in all of these relationships.

Grace Van Dien is the great-granddaughter of the late and legendary Robert Mitchum, and she's worked non-stop the past ten years, though I've only seen her in a couple of things. She clearly has screen presence, although this role doesn't stretch her much at all. I do hope she's offered some more challenging projects moving forward. The bulk of the film's second half focuses on creepy manipulation and the grooming of teenagers ... a hot and important topic lately due to the vulnerability of teenage girls. The message is appreciated, but this one would have benefitted from some script polishing so that the dialogue was more realistic.

Opens on August 4, 2023.

I never review movies. Most movies are reviewed much better than I feel they should be. The exception would be many comedies that have fallen to critical insult when they were just the right medicine at the right time.

After watching this movie, I felt compelled to say something about it. Perhaps, I had very low expectations for 'What Comes Around.' Whether I did or didn't isn't really important. I know that I disagree significantly with many of the critical reviews posted previously. I think that the average mature, intelligent, viewer will find this movie, interesting and thought-provoking.

Initially, I did question the acting of certain characters in the movie. However, I never disbelieved any of the portrayals when I was watching the movie. My conclusion, is that the writing, directing, acting, were carefully gaged to present a realistic scenario. These decisions work well enough that you dislike some of the characters. I believe this dislike is significant enough that it garnered some of the criticism in the previous reviews.

Yes, I didn't think the mother (Summer Phoenix) acted the way that my mother would or that I might but then again she's in a situation that most of us nor our mothers would have ever found our/their-selves. Clearly, as we learn in the end, her mind works a little differently. Maybe, it was only different during a particular period due to circumstances but we can't be sure.

As for the daughter (Grace Van Dien), she was a little bit goofy and giddy. I even thought that perhaps she was a little too happy for an American teenage girl. However, she has no real worries, no concerns, and she thinks that she is "in love." She is not portrayed as stupid, but I think the Director definitely wants us to see how idealistic, naïve, and ignorant she may be.

In regard to how she dresses... She appears to live in a small town in a mountain community. We can see by her room decor in the movie, that she is definitely an individual who is not following current trends. Her love of classic poetry would indicate that she does not fall into the masses in terms of her preferences, including her fashion sense. I think her costume selections suggest a quirky and intellectual personality for the particular individual that the movie is trying to depict.

As for Eric (Kyle Gallner), the daughter's love interest, WOW! His performance was so real that it transported me back to difficult situations from my own life. The conflict, pain, and heartbreak of his character are portrayed with powerful raw emotions.

If you're expecting a thriller or action movie on the level of something like 'Taken', this movie is not it. If you want to watch a well acted and directed realistic movie with surprises and twists. This is a great choice.

A couple interesting twists, but the acting by Summer Phoenix is so so bad that there is no chance for this movie to be taken seriously. Grace Van Dien tries and plays the role well enough. Kyle Gallner shines here. With better dialogue and acting, this could have been a really successful psychological thriller. As it stands though, it's a dark and twisty Hallmark movie. I have to keep writing about this movie, so I will mention that Anna's outfit choices are interesting. Maybe this is how some teens dress these days, but I saw a lot of outfits that read professor/librarian, which felt off. And that's all I have to say about that.