kaiaantoniou
Ten Thousand Saints is witty, good fun, but lacking something. I was glad that Jude (Asa Butterfield) and Eliza (Hailee Steinfeld) ended up together, but some parts were repetitive, dull, and very predictable.
SnoopyStyle
It's 1980 Vermont. Les (Ethan Hawke) is brutally honest in telling his son Jude that he's adopted. Years later, Jude Keffy-Horn (Asa Butterfield) is an emo teenager living with his adopted mother Harriet (Julianne Nicholson) and his sister. His best friend Teddy (Avan Jogia) is desperate to move to NYC and contact his older half-brother Johnny (Emile Hirsch) living there. Les' girlfriend Diane (Emily Mortimer) has a daughter named Eliza (Hailee Steinfeld). It's a dysfunctional alternative family drama and the grimy East Village gets gentrified.It's often jarring when a lead character dies early on. It's also a little convoluted that Les and Johnny happens to live in the same area. The story would be a lot easier if the three kids go to NYC to find Johnny. Instead, the plot takes strange turns into a weird love triangle. The actors are superb but I'm not sure what to think of their characters. They make me want to stay with them... up to a point. I love these actors so much but the story doesn't live up to them.
riesel72
Reviewers keep complaining about the drug use, sex, and irresponsible parents. Umm, that HAPPENS. In real life. More than you realize. I found the acting very well done, yet, the characters, or writing, was... uneven. On one hand, neither the characters nor the plot goes in any direction you think it is going, which most viewers tend to love. However, the setups, swerves and everything we learn is all for nothing, since.. neither the characters nor the plot goes in any direction even hinted at. Characters can spend the first 2/3 of the film complaining about the same thing (adults pushing what they want instead of what the teen wants), make multiple huge dramatic deals about it, then inexplicably change mind to agree with them, from no motivation whatsoever. There are also a couple subtle hints concerning one particular relationship, but everything else heard and done contradicts what happens or what we assume is happening. I really liked most of this film, and WANTED to like the rest but maybe it tried too hard to defy our expectations without earning it or trying. {It would be like watching a film about an interesting Christian Kansas farmer who takes classes in law school then decides to become an Atheist surfer with no reason for any of those out of nowhere decisions other than "just because the character decides to out of the blue".} Instead of "surprising" by being different, it was confusingly frustrating to watch this pointless journey. Still not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing in this mostly unoriginal Hollywood blockbuster era.
Gordon-11
This film tells the story of three parents, and their four teenage children who live chaotic lives in New York.I didn't think I would like "Ten Thousand Saints" at first because their world is so different from mine. The father, played by Ethan Hawke, is an irresponsible parent beyond imagination. He even shares illegal drugs with his son, which is really beyond me. Yet, soon afterwards the characters grow on me and I care much about their well-being and happiness. Hailee Steinfeld's character as a pregnant teenager really stands out, the things she has to go through is tough even for an adult. The scene that she confides that she does not remember what Teddy looks like is quite breathtaking."Ten Thousand Saints" has great character development, and an captivating story to go with it. I certainly hope there will be a happy ending for the children in the untold future.
AD
