Westside Video
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Events
  • Merchandise

The Greatest, directed by Shana Feste (Ashlyn)

3/22/2012

0 Comments

 
The Greatest is the story of a family attempting to overcome the loss of the eldest child, Bennet (Aaron Johnson). That awful situation is compounded when Rose (Carey Mulligan) shows up on their doorstep, pregnant with Bennett's baby. Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan play Allen and Grace, Bennett's parents, with Johnny Simmons as his younger brother Ryan.

This film is so realistic in its portrayal of the journey through grief that you'll hate it as you love it. At the start, we meet Bennett in the hours leading up to his death. I knew what was going to happen, and it was still shocking. What follows is a heartbreaking cycle, where Allen stares away the nighttime hours, Grace wakes up to the horrifying knowledge of her lost son each morning and bursts into tears, and Ryan chemically deadens himself to zombie-walk through his days. When Rose arrives, with her sad smiles and her future in disarray, Grace hates her, Ryan taunts her, and Allen invests his time in her, understanding that his son can, in some form, live on through Rose's child. They all struggle in their own ways: Allen is passive and stoic, refusing to discuss anything involving his children; Grace is desperate and searching constantly for answers; Ryan douses himself in drugs and attempts to find solace in a girl (Zoe Kravitz) from the support group he has joined, but doesn't participate in. The overall effect is a slap in the face, an ice-water-on-your-head reminder of the kind of sadness you hope you never experience, but almost inevitably will. Thankfully, there is hope in this harsh situation, and you'll leave the film feeling as though things must get better.  

Picture
0 Comments

    Authors

    Reviews are written by Westside Video employees and customers- in other words, by people like you. If you have a review you'd like to share, submit it via email or in store!

    Archives

    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

an integral part of the
California Film & Cultural Center
(831) 607-WEST -- PO Box 381, Santa Cruz, CA 95061
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Events
  • Merchandise