Romulus, My Father. Out Tuesday. (****4/10)
Romulus, My Father comes out tomorrow, July 8th, from Alliance Films. It’s the story of a young boy and his father and his mother, and it isn’t exactly heartwarming. But it is pretty good. Romulus is played by Eric Bana (Munich), who gives a good performance as the father of a young boy. His son is played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, who also gives a good performance, as does his mother, played by the gorgeous Franke Potente (The Bourne Identity). The performances are great, the cinematography is great, and the story is interesting. But for all that, this movie is awfully ponderous. There is very little humour, and very few light moments to take some of the weight off.
Romulus is having trouble keeping his depressive wife by his side. Potente is having sex with different men, including Bana’s best friend, which of course puts a serious burden on both her husband and son. The young boy struggles to understand his situation, but as he gets shuffled from one life to another to another, he has trouble keeping it together. So you’ve got a depressed, sex-addicted mother, and a depressed, full-of-rage father, struggling to raise a young boy. Which is depressing for all of us. The young boy is the lone bright spot in the movie, with his ability to remain amazingly happy given the circumstances. But it isn’t enough to lift the movie above it’s slow, deliberate pacing and crushingly bleak outlook.
With all this emotional baggage carried around by the main characters, it would be good if we, the audience, had some emotional investment in the film. That way, we could identify, at the very least, with the young boy. But the slow pacing prevents us from making that connection. And so at the end of the film, we have no idea, really, what we are supposed to take away from the movie. This is the true story of the childhood of Raymond Gaita, who grew up to be a successful author. Is that what we’re supposed to take from this? That young Raymond grew up to make a success of himself? Was it because of this chaos? Despite it? We have no idea. The drama in the film is too inert for us to spot any real defining moments in the young boy’s life.
It’s too bad, really. Great acting, great camera work, a true story - it all adds up to one boring, puzzling movie.