Being Flynn (2012)

Few films concerning father/son relationships have been able to produce the emotional impact of this masterfully written and directed and acted BEING FLYNN. Paul Weitz directs and adapted the 2004 memoir by Nick Flynn "Another Bulls__t Night in Suck City: A Memoir" and brought together a superlative cast that just may be Robert De Niro's finest hour. Nick Flynn deserves the credit for this articulate tale of his own life: he was born and grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts, south of Boston. His parents divorced when he was young and his mother committed suicide when he was 22. He drifted through several jobs before starting work at a homeless shelter in Boston, where at age twenty-seven, he met his estranged, homeless father for the first time. That is the core of the film.

The nature of the film works very well: we simultaneously meet Jonathan Flynn (Robert DeNiro), a man who believes he is `America's greatest writer along side Mark Twain and JD Salinger, who lives life day to day in a drunken stupor, driving taxis, acting out con games etc until he becomes homeless, and after seeking shelter from old friends he has neglected, he ends up in a homeless shelter. We also meet his estranged son Nick Flynn (Paul Dano, in a breakout performance) who is striving to discover who he is, perceiving himself as a writer but unsuccessful with relationships: Nick's mother Jody (Julianne Moore) we see only in flashbacks because she committed suicide, and his only communication with his absent father has been through letters. Also homeless, Nick moves with with two characters (Eddie Rouse and Steve Cirbus) who manage to help Nick find a job in a homeless shelter. As Nick adjusts to working at the shelter he comes into connect with a potential girlfriend Denise (Olivia Thirlby) and begins to feel as though his life has some degree of meaning. The jolt comes when Jonathan seeks shelter in the homeless shelter where Nick works and it is this coming together of two bruised and pained people who happen to be father and son that sets in motion the resolution of the story. Both men are pitiful but both have redeeming characteristics and it is this struggling coming together that makes the film breathe. In addition to the brilliant acting of the main characters, there are also exceptionally memorable roles by Lili Taylor, Victor Rasuk, Thomas Middleditch, Wes Studi, Chris Chalk and others.

Not only is the film pitch perfect in nearly every detail, but it also gives the viewer the opportunity to consider the plight of the homeless around us. How many tragic stories like this are untold or never will be known? When a film can produce that degree of involvement with the audience it goes beyond simply being a film and becomes art art makes us consider, think, and change. Grady Harp, July 12

Based on a true story, this remarkable involving journey of relationships between fathers and sons captures your attention immediately. One father, Robert DeNiro, trys to reach out and bond with his son that he hasn't seen for a long time. His son is still feeling the loss of his mother, and trying to enter into a romantic relationship with his girlfriend. The last thing the boy wants to see is his father. This is an emotional drama as well as a comedy. Serious moments and funny moments. One young man is hurting emotionally as his father continues to struggle. The film portrays a second chance in life, inspiration, and a step forward in faith. Great acting performance, especially with De Niro, bittersweet story,and an emotional roller-coaster ride. I'd watch this again. Highly Entertaining And Highly Recommended!

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I haven't read Nick Flynn's memoir yet, but it's at the top of my list now. While I'm sure this movie abbreviates Flynn's struggles, it amazes me how much one person can endure and still come out the other side with such a wonderful work of art. Anyone who has dealt with the trauma of a lost parent, a mentally ill parent and the suffocating voids they leave must see this movie.

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This movie is supremely thought-provoking within the arenas of father-son relationships, mental illness, homelessness, self-aggrandizement and the pathetic reality of unfulfilled lives and failure. Anyone who understands dark humor and films such as "Bad Lieutenant Port of New Orleans" will love this one and the acting that facilitates understanding its powerful messages. Those who are turned off by dark humor will see only the heartache, loneliness, depression and despair exquisitely and painfully depicted in "Being Flynn."

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This is a film that dwells in the real street level of people barely holding on. Never blaming or criticizing, it holds its' characters accountable for their own actions, even by the supporting cast of characters within the film. Within the film we see the bottom of human depths and dependancy and the frail social, public and governmental resources available to allay and defray those depths of suffering. And in almost every case they fail. What the fervent, religious and grotesquely optimistic can never fathom is the loss of all hope. The absolute and irreversible knowledge that we have done all that we can, and that even more poignant, we know it is not enough. Nick Flynn's mother falls into this category. His father falls into the category of a force of nature that while irresistible is still horribly broken and unforgiving. And yet he is the one who survives and as the last scene of the film provides has made some small acquiescence to, maybe not the nature of his own flesh and blood, but to the very nature of humanity to expound, nurture and forgive. And finally to the mercurial Olivia Thirlby, who has once again put herself into another beautiful film of somewhat flawed but hopeful and redemptive human decency.

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