|
95 MINUTES | MFA: AUGUST 11 + 13-14 + 18 In this original yet overstuffed coming-of-age saga set in Montpelier, Vermont, puckish Emma (Morgan Bicknell) despairs after a tragedy kills her best friend. Solace arrives in the muttering form of a schizophrenic loner and rumored pyromaniac named Sonny Gale (George Woodard). Emma signs on to help Sonny construct a "fire organ," a towering musical sculpture, and the oddball pair forge a credible bond. Filmmaker Nora Jacobson, however, douses her story with an excess of issues: in addition to raising tough questions about the rights of the mentally ill and legal crackdowns on teens, she tosses in debates about civil unions, a whispery voiceover (evidently Sonny’s thoughts), a depressive mother (Rachel Bissex), and a possibly adulterous senator father (John Griesemer) who smokes pot to ease a Vietnam War wound. These earnest, agenda-laden details thud next to the moments of drama and grace. In relaying the healing power of the flame, Jacobson gets too fired up.
BY ALICIA POTTER
|
