akkittelson Great cast (except for one huge exception) and some nice shots of a beautiful landscape, but otherwise this movie is enormously flawed.Why am I going out of my way to write a critique? Am I just mean? Perhaps, but I have some thoughts that I think are worth sharing, or at least I have a bone to pick because I feel I am owed some time back.This story is unbelievably boring. It is like watching concrete grow or like watching bolts turn. Hardly anything of interest happens. The only compelling aspect is the family's predicament, but sadly that isn't the focus, and it doesn't satisfactorily change.Any time something seemingly central is about to happen, something else unrelated and peripheral happens instead.There is no cause and effect. When the main character finds his dad among a group of men sharing a hooker, he does nothing, which is weird. That would be the perfect time for the main character to rethink his loyalty to his dad, which would help him decide to agree to leave town right away. The central conflict is that the main character's best friend wants to leave town as soon as possible, and the main character doesn't quite yet. His excuse is that he wants to help out his dad. Once he finds out that his dad isn't the man he thought he was, he should change his mind.Also, the main character's best friend says he needs to get out of town because he can no longer withstand his father's abuse. It would be so much more powerful if he is ultimately beaten to incapacitation by his father, rather than being hit by a car. His father is the looming danger. Having his father beat him to death would make the rising stakes culminate, and it would make the main character's plea "Just one more week..." so much more meaningful.There are peripheral and loose ends that never tie in. This movie needs to be much tighter.Compounding the torture of the boring story, the plot flaws and the dangling ends is the unbelievably awful performance by the actress Tania Ramonde. Her performance might be the worst on-screen performance I have seen in years, if not ever.I don't blame her; I blame the director.How could the director think that her oddly wandering eyes and contrived "sensuality" (I put it in quotes because I do not find her to be sexy at all) are pleasing to either the story or to an audience's eyes? I had to hide my eyes. I really did.Also, her character just appears out of nowhere. Why is she walking around this strange and desolate town all alone so late at night? Why is she dressed like she lives in modern day Beverly Hills? And if this town is so small, how come she and the main character do not know each other before this night when she just walks up out of the darkness?This brings me to another point about the setting: Where are the stores and the cars and the people? Was this project so low budget that they couldn't afford any props or extras? It's like a ghost town, except without the ghosts.In summary, I care about the plight of the family, and I think that most of the acting is quite admirable. I just think that the story is clichéd, boring and long-winded and the acting by the ingénue is...I won't be rude and say it again because I don't want to burst her bubble. Like I said, I blame the director. All in all, I give this movie a 3.

Billybob-Shatner I caught this film this past week at a film festival, and was very happy I did. The film is both well directed, and well acted. It's not edge of your seat entertainment, nor do I imagine it was intended to be. But what it is, is a very effective, believable and absorbing character study that's both technically superb and believable in its execution. Though he might not look like a conventionally leading man, Gabriel Marantz more than carries the film. He portrayal of the lead character is both believable, and rife with pathos. Solid film and I highly recommend it.

mrmsmith After reading other comments I expected a feeling of magic like that of All the Real Girls, but all I got was a heavy-handed self-conscious film that left me feeling like I missed something. The music was decent but often too loud and too repetitious by the end. The transitional shots of the farmland and roads were beautiful but didn't seem to fit the tone of the film. One scene that appeared to be pivotal to the plot, was over too quickly and never fully explained and thus not as pivotal as the music and cinematography suggested. The acting of the girlfriend (?) was distracting, and the character was just as confusing. Anyway, I agree that The Garage is a slightly better hallmark drama that won't terribly offend anyone, but if you're expecting great narrative or film-making, look elsewhere.

garygo Just caught this movie at the San Fernando Valley Film Festival and was really taken aback by its quiet power. Very much in the "Stand By Me"/"Last Picture Show"/"Summer of '42" mode, it will hopefully find a wider audience outside the fest circuit. Very well-acted by a mix of newcomers and veteran talent, "The Garage" has a great, evocative look, and subtly brings back its late 1970s, pre-MTV time period. It's one of those universal stories about small town life that anyone who's ever left home--or thought about it, will definitely be moved by. The music and cinematography were impressive, too. Check it out if it lands at a festival or theatre near you.