Little Accidents

Dramas are normally not the kind of movie I'm going for so I was not expecting much before watching this movie. After seeing it I must say I'm not disappointed at all. It's certainly worth a watch. It's a movie about all kinds of accidents, guilt and remorse, coping with losses. I thought all the actors gave a good performance. The filming was not bad either, I thought it was enjoyable to watch. The storyline is entertaining enough to not get bored. It is kind of slow with not much action but that's why it's a drama and not an action movie. Nothing wrong with that if you like that genre of movie. I probably won't watch it a second time but I certainly don't regret watching it.

Greetings again from the darkness. You know how we always hear that there are no secrets in a small town – how everyone knows your business? This first feature film from writer/director Sara Colangelo exposes the fallacy of that notion. It seems all residents of this small mining community are carrying secrets, and some are whoppers!

The story picks up about a year after a horrible coal mining accident killed ten local miners. The lone survivor was Amos (Boyd Holbrook) who is struggling with physical limitations resulting from the incident. However, generating more pain for Amos than his withered arm and leg is the internal battle the ongoing investigation is causing him. Should he expose the known safety issues that caused his co-workers to die? If he does, those 10 families probably get justice and a financial reward, but the mine likely shuts down - crippling the local economy and throwing much of the town out of work. If keeps quiet, those families get nothing and it's business as usual for everyone else.

Amos is joined in a daily conundrum of secrets by: Owen (Jacob Lofland), who is much too young to handle the situation an accident has placed him; Owen's brother James (Beau Wright) who has Down Syndrome and is even less equipped to keep his secret; the mine's supervisor Bill (Josh Lucas) who defends his poor decisions by saying he only did what the company forced him to do; and Diane (Elizabeth Banks) who is Bill's wife and reacts to the disappearance of her son and lack of respect for her husband in a manner that can't possibly end well.

As is common in poverty-stricken communities, there is even more to add. Owen's father was one of the miners killed in the accident, and Owen was among the group who last saw Bill and Diane's son alive. Also, Amos is living with his father who is paying the health price for a lifetime of coal mining. The film is bookended by Amos' testimony regarding the accident, and in between we see these intertwined lives and much soul-suffering and personal stock-taking. It's a reminder of how powerful grief can be, especially after such an instantaneous tragedy.

Boyd Holbrook and Jacob Lofland deliver outstanding performances. Mr. Holbrook's career is in skyrocket mode as he appeared in 8 projects during 2013-14 (including Gone Girl, The Skeleton Twins), and has 5 more for 2015 (including Terrence Malick's next film). Young Mr. Lofland was a standout in both Mud (2012) and his recent recurring role on TV's Justified. Also of note is one of the few dramatic turns for Elizabeth Banks. We have come to expect comedy excellence from her (even as Effie in The Hunger Games), but we have rarely seen the emotional depth she portrays here.

The movie is beautifully shot by Rachel Morrison, and the film stock provides the grainy look that adds to the realistic feel necessary for us to be absorbed into this isolated world. Comparisons to other mining movies are expected, and North Country (2005) and Matewan (1987) come to mind, however, those were centered on mistreatment in the workplace and labor issues, respectively. This movie is much more concerned with grief, and for some reason The Stone Boy (1984) comes to mind. Dealing with tragedy does not become easier with age, financial status or social standing. Ms. Colangelo's film provides an intimate look at this.

The actors gave decent performances and as someone who's lived in a small town, I thought they were believable in their roles. Unfortunately there just wasn't anything to the story or the movie. Prepare to be bored.

I appreciate there may be temptation to "feminize" certain narratives but a mining disaster film is not one of them when the narrative's main tension is whether or not the protagonist male is or is not going to say one thing or the other. That was the tension in the film that was poorly developed in order to develop a side-bar that of itself was not developed either but was there in my view to justify Elizabeth Banks' character's errant behavior. As it was, her husband's character barely got a look in, despite his being blamed for the fandango, facing ruination and despite having to deal with the same (side-bar) loss as Elizabeth Banks.

I am not sure what the film was trying to say and therefore I give it only a 7. This said, the performances were super and the photography very impressive. The director (who also wrote this) has a very strong talent in my view but must resist the urge to feminize narratives to the point of it losing focus on what the central drama is: men losing lives and whether the mine will survive (to the relief of the remaining miners) or close on account of compensation payments that will bankrupt it (to the relief of the families caught)

"You gonna be the big shot that closes down the Bonford Coal Company? We lost men in there. I'd keep to myself, if I was you. Just keep telling them you don't remember. Try to get back to work, back to being productive."

You made plans for a cozy movie night ? Are you sitting all comfortably in your seat buried under bags of chips and a bottle of Coca-Cola at your fingertips? Then I advise you to put on another movie than "Little accidents" because this movie won't make you happy. Not even a little bit. It shows a series of truly sad and depressing circumstances and occurrences. A fatal mine accident leaving 10 miners dead, an unfortunate incident with consequences, the wrenching dilemmas, the immense grief after losing a loved one, not knowing what's the fate of a missing person and the misunderstanding within a marriage. It's all included in this social drama, set in a dying town that looks so gray as if it was covered by a layer of coal dust. A story about two people in this "village without a future" whose lives run parallel, without them realizing it, with several points of contact : a dramatic event, the grueling truth that they keep secret and the decision whether or not to reveal it. Eventually, these parallel lines intersect and end in the same way.

"Little Accidents" is a melodrama in which various interest groups are diametrically opposed to each other. On the one hand you have the working people whose lives depend on whether or not they close the Bonford Coal Company. And on the other you have the representatives of the victims and the unions who want to sue the company for negligence and pursuit of profit on the back of the underprivileged workers, making them work in hazardous conditions. Just like Amos Jenkins (Boyd Holbrook) did. He's the sole survivor of the mine accident. After a rehab, he returned to his town in West Virginia and finds himself immediately confronted with this dilemma. He's constantly harassed by both interest groups. At the same time we meet Owen Briggs (Jacob Lofland), son of one of the victims in this mine disaster. His mother Kendra (Chloë Sevigny) tries to pick up the thread again, while Owen takes care of his younger brother James (Beau Wright), an endearing little boy who has Down syndrome. Although Kendra overwhelms both boys with electronic gizmo's, Owen is still struggling to integrate into the community and seeks the company of a group of young people who in the end only bully and exploit him.

The central figure of this group of young people is JT Doyle (Travis Tope), son of Bill (Josh Lucas) and Diane Doyle (Elizabeth Banks), leader and the one who turns up to be missing one day. The only one who knows the true facts about this disappearance, is Owen. But anxiously he keeps his mouth shut about it. This ensures the parents of JT facing a period of long waiting for the outcome of the investigation. The reason why this secret remains with Owen, is the fact that JT's father is one of the board members of the coal mine, who could be responsible for the fatal accident. Probably Owen thinks he could be accused of acting in an act of revenge. The moment the statement of lightning will be seen as untrue, his position as a director of this company will be practically untenable. Diane suffers the most under the disappearance of her son, while father Bill launches himself entirely into his work, and feels more and more neglected which leads to a surprising affair. The result is that the lives of Amos, Owen and Diana get intermingled because of these circumstances.

It's a pretty depressing film. Don't expect smiling faces. It feels more like a competition in "who looks the most depressing". Holbrook plays a surprising role as the half-crippled laborer who's facing a difficult choice. The choice between the relatives of the victims and the non-affected who still benefit from the fact that the only industry in their town still exists. The helplessness and at the same time the shame of being the only survivor, is written all over his face. "It was a waste to save me,if you think about it. I ain't got no family, no kids."as he admitted himself. Also Lofland (known for his role as a helpful teen in "Mud") plays an outstanding role. That intolerable burden he's carrying is played by him in a masterful way. Even in the quiet moments you can see that suffering. Elizabeth Banks (known as Effie Trinket in "The Hunger Games" and as Lydia Mercer in "Man on a Ledge") manages to bring a difficult role to a successful conclusion. She has no problems to bring a mix of diverse emotions: pride, despair, reconciliation, loneliness and dejection. All in all a talented cast.

"Little accidents" isn't a perfect film and has a tendency to become cheesy. It's only sadness you witness and some used themes aren't very original. After a while I got the feeling that it surely was overly packed with gloomy events. But in retrospect you can only admit that this is just part of everyday life. However, the lived through renditions and worked out characters ensure that this gloomy and dark film still makes a good impression. In other words, a wonderful film that shows how disaster can strike mercilessly.

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