The Stone Boy

12 year old Arnald Hillerman accidentally kills his older brother Eugene. His feelings are arrested by the fact that his family can not interact with him (or feel it is not the right thing to do). His ONLY refuge is his grandfather, who is the ONLY one who seems to have compassion on him. The Realism will captivate "true-2-life" movie lovers, but will not satisfy those that desire action & thrills.

The Stone Boy is a tragedy of Midwestern stoicism in the face of inconsolable grief. Arnold accidentally shoots his brother and is frozen out by his family, with the exception of his grandfather. The process for everyone is painful to watch, but handled very quietly. I was very reminded of Tender Mercies, another great Robert Duvall film. It is drama at its best and a film I recommend highly.

A family in rural Montana has their lives ripped apart after their youngest son Arnold (Jason Presson) accidentally shoots and kills his older brother Eugene (Dean Cain). The parents (Robert Duvall and Glenn Close) don't know exactly how to handle the situation afterwards as the boy seems to have no emotion about it, so it is up to his grandfather (Wilford Brimley) to help him make sense of it all.

This is perhaps as low key a drama as you could find. Director Christopher Cain (stepfather of Dean) allows for everything to unfold in a realistic fashion with nary an opportunity for over-the-top theatrics (Frederic Forrest does provide some as Close's brother). There is also a wonderful score by James Horner and beautiful cinematography by Juan Ruiz-Anchia. Presson is quite good as the lead and he would go on to be the kid no one can remember from Joe Dante's Explorers (1985). Linda Hamilton as has a small role as a lady the boy encounters on a bus. Duvall, Close and Brimley would also appear in The Natural released a month after this.

This movie probably never made a blip on the radar screen, but it's got quite a bit of quality. It's pretty lifelike, yet you think "It's only a movie." Duvall and Close portray common people, and you'd never even realize they are now big-name actors. It seems that the jerk in this story is a little too old to be chasing Eugene's girlfriend, but I guess it's possible. It seems unlikely that the kid would travel from Montana to Nevada by himself, but I guess it's possible. You might think that the family troubles in this movie would never happen in your own family, but I guess it's possible. I remember Glenn Close saying something like "You think the work you do is the hardest part of your life, but it isn't."

This American rural drama about a young boy who accidentally shoots his older brother deserves to be better known. Unfortunately it isn't perfect but, despite its flaws, when it's good it's really good. Beautifully filmed and photographed, with gorgeous rural landscapes and settings. The soundtrack by James Horner is very moving and matches the movie's dramatic mood.

Jasson Presson steals the show as the title character, in a far superior and more remarkable role than his role in the flawed hit 'Explorers'. Not that there is anything wrong with his performance in the famous 1985 film, it's just that here is another league.

This movie shows very well that not everyone suffers the same way. Each has their own way of suffering. Some act funny but that doesn't mean that they really mean that. In tragic circumstances, it's actually normal to act a little crazy. That's the case of our Arnold, who is seemingly indifferent to the tragedy he unintentionally caused, but in reality is suffering so much that he takes time to really let it out.

Some scenes shouldn't be here. I think the movie takes too long focusing on Arnold's family's own problems when Arnold himself should be the focus. Also, there are a few severe scenes to watch, such as family's discussions and one girl yelling at Arnold and slapping him.