This is largely a response to the very disparaging reviews that have been posted here. If this movie is so bad, how is that Mike Gassaway won Best Actor at 12 film festivals? And how did Kariana Karhu win Best Child Actress at 6 film festivals? And how did the film itself win Beat Feature Film at many festivals? It also won awards for its direction, its music, and other things.
It's true that there is not a lot of action, and there is a lot of talking. So, if you're looking for an Action movie, per se, you shouldn't pick this. There are two action scenes in it: one at the beginning and then the climax at the end. If that's not enough for you, then shop elsewhere.
But, what the film has is a very touching and convincing love story between an old man and his wife of 45 years. And, it's a thriller since the little girl that Hank is protecting is in even more trouble than he realizes until the very end.
One reviewer complained that there is some repetition in the table-jumping scene. That is true, but we had to build 6 special tables that were narrower than standard picnic tables, and after building them, we had to haul them to the park and set them up. Of course, we had to take them out afterwards. We couldn't do that for 30 tables. That would have been impossible. So, we had to fake it, like there were more tables. It's still a very cute element in the story. Every movie involves contrivance and fabrication, and in order to enjoy any movie, you need to "suspend your disbelief." I'll close by quoting the 1st Monthly Film Festival when they awarded The Pro Bono Watchman Best Feature and Best Actor (Mike Gassaway) "A one of of a kind experience. A story that is told uniquely with performances that are graceful and raw."
