For Ellen

I am pretty sure that a lot of people will not like this film due to the slow pace but it's most definitely worth a watch. Paul Dano the main actor has done a great job in his career and this is no exception, he carries this film all the way through and although he plays a very passive role you have to look a little beyond this to realise it.

A fantastic film from So Yong Kim and the cast. This was visually effective too. One scene that stood out for me was the bar scene (not going into any details for people reading this). Definitely a high rated film and executed well.

Make sure you give this film a view.

Why would you do that? Why would you filch the ending from an all-time classic when it doesn't even make sense in your own story and it's anyway only going to underline how vastly inferior your film is?

It's strangely maddening to me. But at least, at the end of a hopelessly pointless film about a sad guy drifting around entirely uninterestingly, it reminds us that slice-of-life character studies like this can actually work.

The scenes with Ellen and Joby getting to know one another are tender and heart breaking. I wanted more interactions between Joby and Ellen but the brevity was very powerful. The actress who plays Ellen seemed thoughtfully wise beyond her years. For example she initially want to tell her Dad about Abigail or something very important about her mom that Joby didn't know.

I enjoyed the very deliberate toy store scene with Joby and Ellen where much was unspoken. The silence and slowness contrasted with the fact joby only had a short time left to be with her.

Paul Dano gives a subtle peformance as a somewhat immature young man who hasn't found out what really is important in his life -ie. His wife and daughter. It's amazing to think Paul Dano did this film many years before he had his own children and became a dad himself.

The ending was bittersweet and stayed with me. I liked Ellen playing music for Joby and the promise of her musical talents. A beautiful quiet movie.

Paul Dano is one of my favorite younger character actors and I have decided to watch all movies with his presence - luckily, it is not impossible as he is selective in taking roles... I like his versatility as well as courage to accept roles not arousing compassion or expanding fame.

Joby Taylor is a de facto loser with personal and self-assertion issues without any ideas how to solve the status quo, thus, the pace is slow (often protracted) and events depicted are trivial, amplified by gloomy winter weather and interiors. Dano is constantly on screen, often alone, so the script is more suitable for a stage. Topics like children custody and personal coping are touchy, but it is still not enough for even an independent movie. As for the ending, I got ambivalent feelings as well.

To sum up, not bad ideas and splendid starring, but too bleary and daily grind.

Joby Taylor (Paul Dano) is a failed musician who just got divorced. He is estranged from his ex and his daughter. Essentially he is a complete mess. He needs to work out custody of his girl Ellen (Shaylena Mandigo) and in the process hopefully reconnect with her.

Paul Dano is able to play this part well. However I think it took too long to get to the girl. It felt repetitive to see him as a loser for that long. It stagnated the film. For the film to work, it needs to get to the girl quicker. I hate to complain about a little girl's performance. But she added very little to the emotional feel. She is stone-faced thru most of her screen time. Although it could be argued that it is called for, it's hard to act back and forth without 1 side participating.