This could have been a masterpiece, and despite one major structural flaw, it's still a powerfully moving, beautiful film.
Being familiar with the locations, I found the North Shore vibe believable, and I thought the portrayal of folks mostly rang true, although one law officer had apparently been indoctrinated a little too deeply with our somewhat aspirational "Minnesota Nice". Other than that, the acting was superb, particularly from leads Aurora Perrineau and Rachel Hendrix. (This is definitely not, by the way, a fantasy story. The only fantasy is recounted in some tall-tale legends.) I chuckled and laughed out loud several times at the comic relief provided by Mister the Robot; kudos to writer Daniel Stine.
We learn that a group of women must return to the now-closed home for delinquents where they lived in their youth, for the reading of a will. The struggle of one woman to convince another to cooperate sets up a road trip that allows the pair to come to grips with an event that had torn them apart in those early days. Or rather, that's what it should have done. Instead, this wonderfully acted and filmed story became more of a slice of life, a mere vignette, for nearly its entire length because the writer/director failed to adequately build up to the climactic confrontation.
Although we learn a lot about Lyle's and Addison's history, the real reason for their estrangement is referenced so vaguely and peripherally that near the very end, when they finally talk about it, there has been no opportunity for tension to build. And the resolution boggles the mind, comprised of the briefest conversation followed by... not mentioning it again, and yet all is well between them. Unbelievable!
I cried anyway. Yep, it's a tearjerker ending. All in all, this film could have been better, but it's well worth watching!
